PROJECT

College of Media & Communications

We collaborated with renowned architect Antoine Predock to design a premier broadcast journalism and communications college for Northwestern University-Qatar. The Education City campus houses more than 450 students and features a fully automated newsroom, production studios, a library, a museum, and interactive classrooms for on-site and distance learning.

The program included complete architectural design, multidisciplinary engineering and cost-control services from concept to issue-for-construction phase, as well as technical advisory services during construction phases.

The facility features integrated courtyards, dramatic space volumes and landscape that pays homage to desert forms. One of a network of elite institutions on the Education City campus, the structure incorporates such modern materials as limestone, weathering (Corten) steel, marble and glass with the relief of a roof water feature and green vegetative courtyard roofs. Enhanced technology implementations include single- and multistory digital LED screens in public interior and exterior spaces, with some serving as installed artwork.

The Media Majlis, which is the first museum in the Arab world dedicated to discussing and examining the content of media, journalism and communication — presented via a multidisplay timeline spread across an architectural lattice armature structure.

Client

Northwestern University-Qatar

Location

Education City, Doha, Qatar

Services

Architecture

Commercial Buildings

Higher Education Facilities

Green Buildings

Industry

Commercial, Retail & Institutional

Several dedicated spaces are situated for performance and presentation, including an auditorium, black-box theater and projection theater. The black-box theater is a large multipurpose space for students to produce videos and plays. It includes a separate room for set design and construction. The studio is rigged with lighting equipment and special audio-cancellation and flooring. The auditorium fits 115 people, features a high-definition projector and can be used to record and stream live events. The projection theater features a 4K cinema and Dolby Surround 7.1 sound.

The newsroom features some of the most advanced technology in broadcast and production, enabling one person to run the entire show. The modular design allows students to produce a variety of programs using the available set, which can be converted to include talk shows, a panel on social media feeds, a modern news desk and an interactive video wall. The newsroom includes its own control room and an edit suite for production of graphics and rendering of audio, as well as the ability to produce live reports across multiple platforms.

The 370,000-square-foot building was certified LEED Gold by the U.S. Green Buildings Council. The project received prestigious awards including 2016 Qatar Sustainability Award for Green Educational Building and 2017 MEED Quality Award for Education Project of the Year.