Al Jazeera’s Headquarter, Doha building and interior development, Qatar studio design, Architecture images

Al Jazeera’s Headquarter in Doha

Broadcasting Industry Building Development in Qatar design by Veech X Veech architects

post updated 18 April 2024

Architects: Veech X Veech

Location: Doha, Qatar

Al Jazeera’s Headquarter

11 May 2017

Al Jazeera’s Headquarter

Veech X Veech has recently been honored with this year’s Set of the Year Award at the NAB in Las Vegas, conferred by NewcastStudio, the most important trade platform for the broadcasting industry.

Al Jazeera became one of the industry’s most influential multichannel networks worldwide, reaching more than 310 million viewers in over 100 countries.

The network was just awarded Broadcaster of the Year at the prestigious New York Festivals World’s Best TV & Films awards. The Doha HQ is the second large-scale collaboration with Veech X Veech.

Following the launch of the broadcast facilities VXV designed for Al Jazeera Media Network in London’s landmark ‘Shard’ building, VXV were commissioned to design new facilities at the network’s headquarters in Doha. The new Network Studio building and Arabic Newsroom studio were built to commemorate the network’s 20-year anniversary in November 2016.

Al Jazeera Network Studio Building VXV’s new design was conceived as a landmark structure annexed to Al Jazeera’s pre-existing headquarters. The new development contains 1,650m² of studio space and support areas, with 7,450m² of landscaped public space to be realized in 2018. Shaded by a free-standing canopy cantilevering from a 36m lateral structural support, the open-plan design eliminates walls, partitions and columns to provide uninterrupted views through the studios and public areas.

Al Jazeera Network Studio Situated at the core of the new building, the 400m² studio features 360º panoramas throughout the studio and exterior walls. The broadcast studio design goes far beyond conventional ‘black box’ sets, making the vistas seen through the glass façade part of the newsroom’s identity.

Polarization filter panels balance the natural light, while integrated LED lighting, imaging technologies, immersive graphics and Augmented Reality add high-definition digital content to the broadcasts. The architecture is responsive, reconfiguring into a range of sets with distinct programme identities. VXV created interior features that reflect the curves and asymmetry of the calligraphy used in the network’s logo, which subtly reinforce the Al Jazeera brand.

Al Jazeera Arabic Newsroom This ground-breaking hybrid space comprises a broadcast studio and production workplace galleries that provide egress to other parts of the site. The 1,100m² studio contains three individual sets adjacent to open-plan areas with space for 100 workstations. The architecture contains 3D immersive graphics and responsive LED surfaces that reconfigure lighting levels and colour tones as new segments are broadcast. Other technologies capture contextual metadata collected during newsgathering and synchronise it with on-screen graphics and video clips integrated into the main 35m video wall installation.

These projects provide a compelling new vision for how architecture, studio design, broadcast media and digital technologies can make production and distribution faster, responsive and more efficient.

Set of the Year Award
The Al Jazeera Studio 14 in Doha by Veech X Veech won this year’s Set of the Year Award in the “International” category. The Set of the Year Awards, conferred by NewcastStudio, the most important trade platform for the broadcasting industry, honor the best scenic designs in broadcast television.

Stuart A. Veech, Creative Director of Veech X Veech, commented: “It is a great honor to receive the prestigious NewscastStudio award for one of the most challenging projects in our more than 20-year company history, creating both the bespoke architectural building, as well as, the broadcast media and interior landscape. The Al Jazeera Network Studio in Doha reflects VXV´s core expertize in defining new milestones for synergetic relationships between architecture and integrated media environments.”

About Veech X Veech
Veech X Veech operates at the convergence between digital design, broadcast media, and architecture.

Veech x Veech is a Vienna-based, multidisciplinary architecture and design practice founded by Mascha Veech-Kosmatschof and Stuart A. Veech. A leader in linking media and architecture in innovative ways to create new forms of spatial communication, Veech x Veech has 20 years’ experience working with an international client base on various scales, ranging from entire buildings to temporary pavilions, exhibitions, events and product design.

Al Jazeera’s Headquarter in Doha – Building Information

Project: Al Jazeera Network Studio Building
Client: Al Jazeera Media Network
Location: Doha, Qatar
Building Size: 1650sqm
Studio Size: 400sqm
VXV Design Team: Stuart A. Veech, Mascha Veech-Kosmatschof, Thomas Milly, Bernhard Trummer, Miguel Pereira, Mihai Potra

Project Credits:
Veexh X Veech – Architectural Design, Broadcast Studio Design, Landscape Design
Ove Arup & Partners International Limited – Lead Consultant
(Civil, Structural, MEP, Geotechnical, Façade, Fire, Acoustics, ICT/Communications, Studio Production Lighting, Architectural Lighting)
Borgos Pieper Architects
Qatar Design Consortium – Architect of Record
Northcroft – Quantity Surveying
Gulf Contracting Company – Main Contractor
KEO International – Supervision Consultants
Set Construction: MCI Studio Hamburg
Photos © Hufton + Crow

Project: Al Jazeera Arabic Newsroom
Client: Al Jazeera Media Network
Location: Doha, Qatar
Studio Size: 1100sqm
Design Team: Stuart A. Veech, Mascha Veech-Kosmatschof, Thomas Milly, Bernhard Trummer, Vladimir Ivanov, Mihai Potra
Set Construction: MCI Studio Hamburg