This year’s event will journey through the history of Islamic architecture, its impact on modern aesthetics and its potential to encourage sustainable practices within the field of architecture.

This year Design Doha will oversee Marchitecture 2024, exploring Islamic Architecture and its Global Influence. The three-day event, from March 28 to 30, will feature insightful panel discussions and tours exploring Doha’s architectural feats.

Day one

Day one of the event will kick off with a talk by Qatar-based academic, Ali Abdulraouf, while Akel Ismail Kahera — Hamad bin Khalifa University’s Professor of Islamic Architecture and Urbanism — will moderate the talk.

Titled The Roots of Islamic Architecture: A Historical Perspective, Abdulraouf will delve into the cultural signposts within Islamic architecture and how this has evolved over the centuries.

Abdulraouf will then lead a guided tour of the architectural wonder, Qatar’s Museum of Islamic Art (MIA), where visitors can learn more about the Swiss coffee-hued limestone structure designed by internationally renowned architect, the late I.M. Pei (1917 – 2019).

One of Pei’s final works, the MIA, which opened its doors to the public in 2008, was a modern twist on an ancient mosque from Cairo. Both its exterior and interior are visual marvels.

During a 2019 interview with Al Jazeera, Shaika Nasser Al-Nassr, the museum’s director, remarked that nothing quite compares to Qatar’s MIA.

“I’ve been to many international museums and especially Islamic art galleries. I don’t think I’ve seen such a museum that really tells the story of Islamic art, and history in such a way and in-depth,” she said.

Day two

Aligned with the objectives outlined by the government in Qatar National Vision 2030 for a prosperous and sustainable future, day two of the event focuses on environmental conservation.

The keynote lecture, Sustainability and Islamic Architecture: A Vision for Tomorrow, will delve into integrating sustainable practices into the esteemed heritage of Islamic architectural traditions.

Fanos Panayides, a British chartered architect and director at John McAslan + Partners will lead the discussion.

Panayides’ portfolio spans projects within Doha’s Msheireb redevelopment and public realm works for the multi-station Doha Metro Green Line Project.

Also chiming in on the sustainability discussion will be Simon Gathercole — a partner and architectural designer at Allies and Morrison.

While previously in Doha, he was instrumental in the Msheireb Downtown sustainability-led regeneration projects. There, he designed the project’s innovative courtyard-type townhouses, Eid prayer ground, Friday mosque and elements of urban infrastructure.

Fatma Fawzi, the sustainability manager at Msheireb Properties, will moderate the talk.

Attendees of Marchitecture will also enjoy a tour of the mosques in Msheireb Downtown.

Day three

Marchitecture 2024 will conclude with a panel on Contemporary Expressions: Fusion of Islamic and Global Architectural Styles.

Speakers include the director and co-founder of the Mangera Yvars Architects (MYAA), Ali Mangera. Mangera’s portfolio includes working on the award-winning Faculty of Islamic Studies at Doha’s Education City.  

Also at the discussion table will be MYAA’s co-founder, Ada Yvars Bravo. She has led key packages for Education City’s Faculty of Islamic Studies as well as in Msheireb Downtown, Doha.

Other speakers include Iraqi-British architect and calligraphist, Taha Al Hiti — who designed the artwork for Education City’s Minaretein building. After opening in 2015, Al Hiti remarked that the building “is one of the best examples of the strength of the relationship between architecture and calligraphy. I take a lot of pride in the work there, especially our efforts to turn calligraphy into an architectural and environmental element, in which compositions of letters are used as light filters or louvers.”

Marwan Al Balushi will also feature on the panel and the discussion will be moderated by Suzanne Ghadanfar, a research fellow MSc in Islamic Art, Architecture, and Urbanism at Hamad bin Khalifa University’s College of Islamic Studies.

After the panel discussion, MYAA’s Mangera and Yvars Bravo will lead a tour of Qatar Foundation’s Education City Mosque.

As Marchitecture 2024 coincides with the holy month of Ramadan, there will also be Suhoor events for attendees.