Parting shot

By Robert Elwall

As much of the new architecture was designed by foreign firms, the danger was of a transplantation of alien models on to Arab soil, or the application of a superficial veneer of vernacular forms. One of the most important projects of this period did, however, seek a genuine fusion of Western technology and traditional Arab architecture – the University of Qatar sited on an incline 12 miles north of Doha. A former British protectorate, Qatar had only gained its independence in 1971 and the university represented an opportunity to affirm its new status. After a competition, the task was entrusted in 1974 to Egyptian architect Kamal El Kafrawi with Ove Arup and Partners as consultants. At the heart of Kafrawi’s masterplan was a determination to update tried and tested local building techniques. His modular design was based on the traditional Islamic form of the octagonal grid, while the massive self-contained complex was punctuated by a series of open and partly covered courtyards, which, with their plants and fountains, were inspired by the region’s patio houses. The inventive filtering of light also drew on native precedents. The mass-produced carved wooden screens recalled the traditional mashrabiya and El Kafrawi introduced a modern version of the ancient wind-tower that not only regulated the influx of light and air but, frequently repeated, afforded the campus its dramatic silhouette.