Doha’s rebirth as a vibrant modern metropolis continues with the arrival of The Ned Doha, five years after its sister hotel in London opened to widespread fanfare.
Like The Ned London, which occupies the former Midland Bank in the City, the new outpost is a loving revival of a historic venue – in this case, the Ministry of the Interior, designed in the 1970s by Lebanese architect William Sednaoui. It continues a welcome shift in the travel industry and indeed, in architecture, towards reusing existing structures, thus reducing the environmental impact of construction and building a valuable bridge between past and present.
As one of Doha’s oldest and most striking urban landmarks, the Ministry of the Interior is no forgotten treasure but a well-known spectacle, celebrated for its lattice-like Modernist design and prime location on the city’s Corniche waterfront. Fittingly, the practice chosen to transform it is equally prestigious: David Chipperfield Architects is renowned for its sensitive renewal of historic buildings such as Berlin’s Neues Museum.
“With its finely rhythmic façade and sculptural silhouette, the building is considered an elegant demonstration of Brutalism in the Middle East,” say the architects, who added a new top floor to create a lush roof garden. Complete with exotic plants, pools and artworks, this 260m-long oasis is sheltered from the hot Doha sun by a brise soleil canopy of slender concrete ribs.
“The newly created podium enhances the horizontal aesthetics of the building, while the roof slats cite the linear structures of the existing pilaster strips,” say the architects. “Their distinctive play of shadows shapes the entire design of the hotel right into the interior, which was reinterpreted by a number of precise interventions.”
A soaring atrium and spacious inner courtyard form the heart of the hotel, with numerous vantage points to admire their generous expanses of marble, including a geometric inlaid floor in the lobby. These stone details are another sensitively chosen addition, echoing the Ministry’s original travertine façade.
The 90 rooms and suites, created by Soho House Design, take inspiration from 1970s architecture, fusing retro glamour with classic comfort. Accordingly, bedrooms feature statement half-moon headboards, Murano glass lighting, coffered ceilings and vintage furniture in a palette of warm colours and rich woods.
The hotel boasts seven restaurants, including the characterful American-style Electric Diner, and Kaia, a stylish Pan-Asian eaterie with wood-panelled walls. Naturally, there’s a members’ club, too: join Ned’s Club for access to the rooftop terrace, health club and spa, and a 30-metre outdoor pool.
The curation of an art collection is now a big trend in hotel design, and here is one of the more impressive examples you’ll see: numbering over 350 works in a variety of media, it represents 95 artists, seventy per cent of whom are women and many of whom are from Doha. It has been curated by local collective Mathqaf, and distinguishes The Ned as one of the few places to see contemporary art from the region on permanent display. Even without the gorgeous interiors, that alone makes it worth booking in.
