Doha Tower

Doha Tower, also known as Burj Doha (Arabic: برج الدوحة), and previously named as Burj Qatar and Doha High Rise Office Building, is a high rise tower in West Bay, Doha, Qatar. On October 18, 2012, the building received the CTBUH Skyscraper Award for the Best Tall Building Worldwide from the CTBUH. The $125-million office building, designed by French architect Jean Nouvel, has a height of 238 metres (781 ft), with 46 stories. In 2004 the project was first named as the Doha High Rise Office Building and after completion of construction in 2012 was branded as Burj Doha by the owner, H. E. Sheikh Saud bin Muhammed Al Thani. The public has noted the building's "phallic form", suggestive of what Nouvel calls a "fully assumed virility." After the people called it informally the Burj Qatar, the Government of Qatar renamed it officially the Doha Tower. The Doha Tower comprises 46 floors above ground, three floors below ground and a total gross floor area of approximately 110,000 m2. It has no central core, leaving more internal space available to its occupants. The design is unique, the first skyscraper with internal reinforced concrete diagrid columns, which form a cross (X) shape that connects with the eye-catching cylindrical facade. The design expresses the local culture, connecting the very modern with ancient Islamic designs (Mashrabiya). Islamic screens were designed to shade the building from high temperatures as well as the unpleasant sand residue found on glass throughout the region. The building is designed to hold offices for businesses wishing to operate in the diverse business district of West Bay. The Doha Tower was owned by Sheikh Saud bin Muhammed Al Thani and managed by Hamad Bin Saoud Group. It is currently the seventh tallest building in Doha.