Three years ago, Qatar won the right to be the first Middle Eastern country to host a World Cup in 2022; after much speculation, FIFA’s Secretary General Jerome Valcke publicly ruled out the possibility that the competition will take place in summer.

Since winning the bid with designs of spectacular solar-powered stadiums, the Emirate has insisted that it will provide comfortable facilities for both athletes and visitors, but Valcke is adamantly against the idea of a summer event.

Previously, the Secretary General recently he said he would defer to medical specialists to determine whether it is safe to hold the games in Qatar in summer, when temperatures average between 95 and 113 degrees Fahrenheit. But on Wednesday, he took a more definitive stance.

“The dates of the World Cup will not be in June or July. I think it will be played between November 15 and January 15 the latest,” he told France Inter Radio on Wednesday.

“If you play between November 15 and, let’s say, the end of December, it’s the time when the weather is the most favourable,” Valcke added.

But it seems that Valcke spoke out of turn, because FIFA was quick to release a statement that no firm decision has been made about when the 2022 World Cup will take place – a reflection, perhaps, of a division within the organization.

ABC News reports: “The precise event date is still subject to an ongoing consultation process,” FIFA said in a statement released a short time after Valcke’s comments were splashed around the world. “As the event will not be played until 8 years’ time, the consultation process will not be rushed and will be given the necessary time to consider all of the elements relevant for a decision.”

Qatar’s organizing committee claims it is prepared for anything – a summer or a winter event, ABC News reports.

“During the FIFA Executive Committee meeting in October, it was agreed that FIFA would enter a period of consultation on the ideal time of year to host the World Cup in Qatar — with a recommendation expected after the World Cup in Brazil,” they said on Wednesday.

“We await the outcome of this consultation period. We will be ready to host the World Cup regardless of the outcome.”

This may be one of the most controversial World Cups in history. The weather’s not right, working conditions are said to be akin to modern day slavery, and Zaha Hadid got all kinds of heat for publishing renders of a stadium said to look like a vagina.

It seemed that finally the summer/winter debate had been settled, but apparently not. The confusion ensues. Stay tuned.

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Almost as soon as Qatar won the bid to host the 2022 World Cup with a suite of swanky solar-powered stadiums, activists started clambering about the emirate’s terrible working conditions. Turn’s out, their warnings were dead on.

A recent investigation launched byThe Guardian has uncovered just how badly migrant workers are treated in Qatar as it prepares to accommodate hundreds of thousands, maybe millions, of visitors in 2022.

Facing both a construction glut and and a domestic population that is less willing than able to build their own hotels, roads, airports, and stadia, Qatari leaders have been recruiting vulnerable Nepalese workers to do the grunt work. These workers are often in some debt, since they have had to pay recruitment companies to secure work for them.

Once they get to Qatar, where they are hoping to earn some extra cash to send home, they often find themselves in cramped hot rooms with no ventilation, their passports are sometimes withheld, so is pay. Men talk about having to beg for food and work long, arduous shifts hungry and thirsty because they have no money.

“We were working on an empty stomach for 24 hours; 12 hours’ work and then no food all night,” Ram Kumar Mahara, who is just 27 years old, told the paper.

“When I complained, my manager assaulted me, kicked me out of the labour camp I lived in and refused to pay me anything. I had to beg for food from other workers.”

“We’d like to leave, but the company won’t let us,” said one Nepalese migrant employed at Lusail City development, a brand new $45bn (£28bn) city that will host the World Cup final.

“I’m angry about how this company is treating us, but we’re helpless. I regret coming here, but what to do? We were compelled to come just to make a living, but we’ve had no luck.”

The Guardian obtained records from the Nepalese embassy in Doha which reveal that 44 young, healthy men died between June and August, more than half of them from heart attacks or heart failure. That equates to nearly one person every day.

After unearthing a plethora of scathing reports, the paper approached the Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee with their allegations. Whilst the group claims that work has yet to start for the World Cup preparations, they expressed concern and told the paper that the relevant authorities are conducting their own investigation.

Head over to The Guardian too learn more about the dreadful conditions that workers in Qatar face and – particularly if you’re a sports fan and plan to attend this magnanimous event – consider making your complaints heard.

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To address health concerns raised before host nation selection, air-conditioned stadiums loomed large in Qatar’s bid, but that only addressed the interior heat problem.  A proposed solar-powered stadium does nothing to offset the energy-guzzling, mechanically cooled venues growing up to support the visiting hordes of players, fans, media, corporate sponsors and the workforce imported to cater to their needs.

“You can cool down the stadiums but you can’t cool down the whole country,” said FIFA President Sepp Blatter, although there was talk of blanketing the Doha skies with artificial clouds to shade the city.

Speaking at a two-day conference on sports, media and economy in Austria, Blatter said, “If this World Cup is to become a party for the people, you can’t play football in the summer.” (Blatter refuses to say if he backed Qatar’s original bid.)

A more realistic solution to overcome the oppressive heat is to switch the 2022 World Cup to a winter event, and, according to the BBC, Blatter has stated his intention to make that happen. The move would likely anger fans, overhauling tradition and disrupting playing schedules for domestic leagues across Europe.

Hassan Al-Thawadi, head of the Qatar organizing committee, said that although Qatar bid for a summer tournament, he would consider a change to another season. “If there is a wish from the football community to move the World Cup to the winter, we are open for it,” said Al-Thawadi, according to the New York Times.

“There is still enough time,” Blatter said. “I will bring this up to the executive committee.”  Stay tuned as this ball goes in and out of play.

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Qatar’s controversial 2022 World Cup planning got a burst of star power when renowned Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid, who was one of Time Magazine’s top 100 most influential people in 2010, was appointed to join AECOM to design the Al Wakrah Stadium. 

The modular 45,000 seat stadium will incorporate Islamic architectural elements to match one of the oldest inhabited settlements in Qatar – just south of Doha.

A design that embraces the city’s cultural heritage, the stadium will act as an urban oasis complete with an aquatics center, a spa and commercial space.

And, perhaps most importantly, it will incorporate a host of cooling technologies and renewable energy to ensure that both athletes and visitors are safe during the Arabian Gulf’s vicious summers.

(That being said, there is still a chance that the 2022 World Cup will be switched to winter.)

Since Qatar won’t really have any need for a 45,120 seat stadium when the sporting event comes to a close, the building’s modular second tier can be removed, slashing the total capacity to a more humble 25,500 seats.

Zaha Hadid is not known for her ecologically-sensitive design, but she does add some serious star power to the World Cup that has been subject to criticism from the start.

After accusations that Qatar bribed their way through the historic bid, critics warn that the first such event to be held in the Middle East will be dangerously hot.

But contractors such as AECOM have promised that they have the necessary technology to deliver solar-powered stadia that will maintain a comfortable interior environment.

Work on Al Wakrah Stadium is set to start immediately.

:: Designboom

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And Tangram is leading the way with a design that incorporates ancient Islamic climate controls and biomimicry to keep 80,000 people cool during what will be the Middle East’s first World Cup event.

“We are in a pivotal time now in Qatar as we have nine years left to deliver our construction plans,” Eckersall said at the recent event.

“We must be clever and intelligent to provide sustainable buildings for the next generation and think about the legacy we are going to leave for 2022 and beyond.”

Wrapped in a punctured skin that permits constant air flow, Tangram’s stadium relies on several passive cooling mechanisms that don’t require a watt of conventional energy.

Traditional baghdeer openings combined with Fibonacci logarithms and a cooling technique modeled after desert lizards (which fan themselves using their scales) pushes hot air out of the stadium while keeping cool air inside.

Additionally, using the Venturi effect, the designers propose to hasten air pressure across the colonnades to further promote cooling. These also provide thermal massing.

Lastly, a system of qanats, such as those used by the ancient Persians to transport water from the mountains to dry valleys below, are used to create a shallow pool of water below the stadium in order to provide evaporative cooling.

In this way, Tangram believes they will be able to keep interior temperatures below the so-called Wet Bulb Temperature (WBT) of 26-29C mandated by FIFA.

However, it remains to be seen whether the event will be staged during summer as critics warn that the high heat and humidity could imperil the health of both athletes and spectators.

Michel D’Hooghe, FIFA’s medical chief, has publicly announced his preference for a safer winter World Cup that year.

Meanwhile, with construction and talks about unfair labor laws well underway, Qatar is on track to spend approximately $115 billion to prepare for the event.

:: Inhabitat

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Workers from Bangladesh, Nepal and the Philippines make up a staggering 70% of the population and 94% of the labor force, The Guardian reports.

But they only earn, on average, about $300 per month – compared to the Qatari’s average earnings of $2,140 per month. What’s more, they are completely divested of all personal freedom upon entering into any employment contracts.

Their passports are confiscated, they frequently work more than a dozen hours a day – often seven days a week, and their living conditions are appalling.

Deutsche Bank is among the companies that want to be seen as upholding their moral obligation to ensure that the workers who lay the foundations and swelter in the hot sun are walking away with a decent wage, but they appear to be hiding behind their own self-deception.

“DB management seems concerned about codes of conduct,” write the report’s authors, “but they define their responsibilities as ‘within the sphere of their influence,’ which virtually excludes their contractors and sub-contractors from any accusation of violating labour rights.”

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The tender for the first solar-powered World Cup 2022 stadium has been issued and the winners will be announced in November or December, the Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee has said. Construction should follow soon thereafter and if all goes according to plan, Al Wakrah stadium will be complete as soon as 2015.

“The stadium will be developed in conjunction with Qatar Foundation at Education City,” Hotelier Middle East reports, and an additional five of the 12 planned stadia are in either planning or tender stages.

Qatar is taking their world cup planning very seriously, as they hope to create a cultural, economic and social legacy, although this will depend a great deal on how well they treat their foreign workers during the process.

“Our aim is to ensure that the event contributes to achieving the targets set in the 2030 National Vision and to ensure this, it is of the utmost importance that the entire nation works together in a spirit of close cooperation,” said secretary general Hassan Al Thawadi.

Plans for a giant revolving crystal ball that will host a FIFA soccer museum were also unveiled recently, promising a grand but decidedly ungreen spectacle.

Recently the committee confirmed that they would be willing to host the World Cup in winter if there is sufficient demand from the international community, although they insist that their air-conditioned facilities will keep patrons suitably cool.

Usually the soccer tournament is held in June or July, but FIFA is considering the possibility of switching it to November or December in 2022, Critics worry that this will require many clubs to completely arrange their annual schedule.

Luckily they have a whole decade to work it out. Stay tuned.

The post Qatar’s First Solar-Powered World Cup Stadium to Break Ground Soon appeared first on Green Prophet.

After six years of failing to negotiate with them, a Catalan designer is going public with a story that could cause Qatar tremendous embarrassment in the lead up to the 2022 World Cup. A member of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the World Trade Organization (WTO) and bound by the Paris Convention and the TRIPS Agreement, Qatar is a sovereign nation. And yet, according to Beth Galí, the country’s public works authority Ashgal knowingly counterfeited 10 kilometers of street lighting that she designed for Barcelona.

The Stolen Latina Lights

In 2006, Ashgal forged nearly 1,000 “Latina” street lamps designed by Galí and manufactured by Santa & Cole. They were installed on Al Waab Street – the main thoroughfare in Doha – and are said to have been made poorly too.

The lamps were originally commissioned for completion in advance of the 14th Asian Games in Doha in 2006. Once Galí caught wind of what she calls one of the “largest acts of piracy in the history of design,” she attempted to negotiate with Ashgal through WIPO.

But since Qatar refused the arbitration, the designer has taken her case to the Courts of Barcelona instead.

After six years of battling against one of the wealthiest nations on earth, Galí has received an outpouring of support from the manufacturers Santa & Cole, from the Barcelona Design Center (BCD) and a host of local designers as well.

Qatar Fakes

“It is unbelievable that a country such as Qatar could commit such a serious case of forgery,” said Javier Nieto, Chairman of Santa & Cole.

“Protecting design as a factor of innovation is essential to create economic and social value in Europe,” Pau Herrera, Chairman of BCD concurred.

Meanwhile, Galí says that the forgeries aren’t even very well done. They are said to dazzle drivers and to be made with cheap, unstable steel. Images on Qatar Fakes website reveal the very strong possibility that Qatar stole this design, showing zero respect for copyright.

If true, they have a lot to answer for – especially as the spotlight will be on them in advance of the World Cup.

:: Dezeen

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Qatar is moving rapidly towards its vision to host the world cup in 2022. Yet if scrutinised, current progress in urban infrastructure and architecture seems to be frail in terms of character and functional approach. Is the idea of developing an ‘instant city’ going to be a harmful one? Are designs being developed on the burden of unnecessary stylistic demands? Will the city planners commit to making the same mistakes made in the other developed cities in the Middle East region?

Architecture here is already being needlessly influenced by predominantly western concepts. One should not forget that most of the iconic designs are developed by expatriates who don’t understand that cities in the Middle East lack a public realm. The skyline of the west-bay area already resembles Sheikh Zayed road in Dubai.

Acceptance of one’s cultural backdrop

As an architect, I often wonder why there is a perception that any element of existing heritage of Qatar— be it cultural or spiritual — is always identified with the past, backwardness and poverty; while the image of “development” or “progress” is always borrowed from elsewhere?

For instance, why is glass considered to be a material that denotes ‘progress’ whereas traditional and practical materials like clay and limestone are often related to backwardness and poverty? This impractical dissociation between materials and the environmental context of a region causes a slow degradation of the local architectural expression.

This advocates methods of tweaking ideas from one cultural context and illogically pasting them into another. Prospective business tenants in Doha have become aware that dramatically curved or angled glazed walls within exotic building shells can hike the cost of fitting out an office by 15-20 per cent.

In this part of the world, where methods of keeping the heat out and preventing its transfer are required, architects instead celebrate with glass. Each glass tower, built taller than the other – becomes unexpectedly meaningless, rendering any discussion of architecture irrelevant.

Logical Planning

In a country where the population of locals and expatriates is rising and in parallel multiple numbers of vehicles, Doha’s road networks are still being planned on a more old-fashioned British-like system that consists of 3-4 lane networks and small roundabouts. And traffic police seem to still require resources, training and maturity in terms of traffic monitoring, i.e. maintaining social control and driving discipline.

Dedicated lanes, bus-stops and other suitable provisions for public transport are still being ignored. This overall deficiency in urban foresight will not be able to manage the increasing volume of traffic in the coming years. Wider lanes and interchanges are an immediate requirement in Doha.

Even today, there are no proper provisions in place for the mobility of emergency vehicles. And vehicle parking is already an intrinsic problem. For instance, in a developing area like West Bay – every Doha resident has experienced the havoc of trying to access the City Centre Mall and find a parking space even during weekdays.

Traffic

Proper road grading and storm-water drainage systems are still being overlooked in the assumption that Qatar receives very little rainfall annually. Most residents are aware of havoc caused last year due to blocked roads and flooded roundabouts following sudden downpours. Saudi residents will not forget the aftermaths of rains that took place in Jeddah a few years back.

Construction managers have blindly prepared new road construction plans/strategies without taking into account efficient diversions for current and future traffic volumes. In the coming years, the roads in Doha are going to be inevitably jam-packed with vehicles and residents will be frustrated with road blocks due to inefficient road construction planning.

I’m forced to question the content and feasibility of the current Master Plan devised for Doha, as the few remaining empty plots located within the busiest/crowded areas in Doha are still being built-upon(e.g. Najma, Mansoora, Muntazah). Common sense says that such empty plots should be utilized for enabling vehicle parking and also providing breathing spaces, green parks and breakpoints for pedestrians.

People are forced to be drivers, not pedestrians. Low-income workers have desperately adopted settling on small grass areas between roads as these happen to be the only areas available for informal meetings. The creation of architectural wonders in Doha will not overshadow the city’s poor urban planning.

All future developments must be moved to the outer parts of Doha so that volumes of traffic and people settlements are distributed evenly through the country. Creation of multiple ‘Doha-like’ satellite townships with highway access should be the primary aim rather than building dense infrastructure and buildings in and around the already congested parts of the city.

The buoyant future

It is not as though Doha doesn’t know how to make good cities. Its old downtown, located along the creekside and hearkening the emirate’s fishing village and trading post origins, is a charmer with old marketplaces or souks.

Here are age-old lessons of walkable streets, mixed uses and the use of aged buildings that form still-relevant models for planning cities. The trouble is that these models are being trampled upon in the rush to create the car-oriented city of office parks and commercial strips that is going to be stretched for mile after mile.

Overall, Doha should not be focused on just building up infrastructure to support a world cup. This hasty, spur-of-the-moment approach to get things accomplished is not going to benefit the country or its residents in anyway.

Lessons should be learnt from case-studying city plans of already developed cities like Dubai & Abu Dhabi. The engineering arena should convince the elite that the future of Doha desperately lies in logical design for the benefit of the residents, controlled urban growth, efficient use of per-capita income, value-engineering and acceptance of one’s cultural setting.

Romi Sebastian is based in Doha.

Skyline from Shutterstock

More on the 2022 World Cup in Qatar:
“The Showcase” is a Mini Prototype Stadium for Qatar’s 2022 World Cup
Qatar Accused of Bribing Their Way to the 2022 World Cup
SLIDESHOW: Entries for Qatar’s 2022 World Cup Stadiums

The post Local Architect Questions the Logic of Qatar’s 2022 World Cup Groundwork appeared first on Green Prophet.

We had our doubts when we first heard that Qatar wanted to host the 2022 Soccer World Cup in the desert, in the middle of the summer. And we became even more suspicious when whispers of bribery rippled through the wires. But Arup’s mini stadium called The Showcase, which was partly responsible for clinching the bid in the first place, demonstrates that Qatar is poised to make a success of its wild plans. No one thought South Africa would pull off 2010; maybe this is a game that we play? In any case, step in for a glimpse at Arup’s zero carbon prototype stadium, which showcases technology that will keep athletes and spectators cool in 2022.

Arup Associates has taken a trifold approach to making the 2022 World Cup a feasible and sustainable event. First, they have combined passive design that references traditional desert architecture with modern technology in order to mitigate energy consumption and ensure a comfortable environment both the revelers and the teams.

Then they employed two different kinds of solar technology to generate energy. A field of photovoltaic panels and Fresnel parabolic mirrors will generate enough power to keep the stadium energized and cool and to feed back into the National Grid when everyone has gone home (or to their respective hotels.) With biofuels will also be added into the mix, The Showcase is a zero carbon facility.

Keeping large stadiums cool in 40 celsius degree plus weather requires a great amount of energy, so Arup capture generated heat and feed it through absorption chillers and eutectic tanks in order to provide cooling and lighting.

Finally, a maneuverable roof canopy can be left open to provide natural ventilation or it can be closed to shade the stadium and allow a special underseat cooling system to do its work. According to World Architecture News, this technology is so effective that the interior temperatures will be far lower than guidelines set out by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) medical committee.

:: World Architecture News

More on World Cup 2022 in Qatar:

Qatar Accused of Bribing Their Way to Solar-Powered 2022 World Cup

SLIDESHOW: Entries for Qatar’s 2022 Stadiums

World Cup 2022: Is Qatar too Hot to Bid?

The post “The Showcase” is a Mini Prototype Stadium for Qatar’s 2022 World Cup appeared first on Green Prophet.