In the fall of 2009, Dan Meis was engaged to assist the Doha 2022 World Cup Supreme Committee in assembly of their bid. His design for the Sports City Stadium was included along with eight other designs/sites as a key component of the Doha 2022 World Cup Bid Book. MEIS later participated in design competitions for two other potential stadiums for the World Cup including venues in Al Wakrah, and Al Rayan.
Features and challenges of the mandate:
Qatar was considered a long shot contender for the 2022 World Cup. The Doha Supreme Committee reached out to the world’s most innovative practices in order to demonstrate a uniquely flexible and sustainable plan for the World Cup. The venues had to respond to extreme climate conditions while providing full comfort to players and fans. In a country of less than 3 million residents, the stadiums had to demonstrate extreme flexibility including conversion and temporary construction techniques in order to avoid wasteful unused venues post the 2022 World Cup. The creativity and innovation demonstrated in our design work contributed to the success of Doha’s bid. Dan was subsequently recruited by the Supreme Committee to accept the role of lead architect of the 2022 WC but chose to remain in private practice.
This project was conceived by MEIS prior to becoming a Perkins Eastman Studio.