Qatar developer floats plans for waterpark residential tower in Lusail

All renderings courtesy of Al Bandary Real Estate

As construction in the new city of Lusail picks up the pace, a local developer has unveiled plans for a waterpark-themed condo tower situated off of Qatar’s coastline.

The high-end “Amwaj” development, which means “waves” in Arabic, is being led by Bandary Real Estate. Promotional images on the company’s website show the tower surrounded by more than a half-dozen pools on multiple floors, some of which are connected by waterslides.

Each unit is expected to have a swimming pool on the balcony, according to a report in Arabian Business, which said construction is expected to begin this year and take three years to complete. The article added that the building is likely to be 29 stories tall.

According to Bandary, the architectural design was inspired by the “curvy look of an ocean wave, which sculpts the water of the neighboring sea.” The developer added that the luxury building would contain one, two, three and four-bedroom units and host several restaurants.

Bandary appears to have more than a half-dozen luxury real estate projects in the planning and development stages, including several mixed-use and low-rise buildings in Lusail.

The company also recently announced that it had sold all the units in its Jumana Two tower, which is located in Porto Arabia in the Pearl-Qatar.

Bold proposals

Many developers in Qatar are concentrated on the high-end market and in recent years have incorporated bold architectural features and designs into their residential and hospitality projects to differentiate themselves.

This has led to a raft of eye-catching proposals, including a US$1.6 billion offshore hotel called the Silver Pearl and Katara Hospitality’s “crossed swords” towers in Lusail.

The latter project is one of the most ambitious proposals for the master-planned city of Lusail, which is envisioned to be home to around 450,000 residents when it’s complete.

The city contains four purpose-built islands and 19 “multi-purpose residential, mixed-use, entertainment and commercial districts,” according to documents outlining the vision for the city.

Early progress, however, has disappointed some of the city’s first would-be residents.

After enduring years of construction delays, some have complained about substandard quality in their supposed “luxury” homes, as well as extra fees and changes to the floorplan designs.

Thoughts?