The Brief
The Brazil 2014 Fan Zone at Katara was designed to give football fans a dedicated area to escape extreme summer temperatures and watch the last 16 World Cup matches on Qatar’s largest LED screen, inside a unique, specially-constructed, open-air, cooled venue.
The Idea
A uniquely designed structure packed with football activations — VR, speed kicks, green screens and mascots.
How It Worked
The Fan Zone, with its fully retractable roof and innovative cooling design, brought Doha’s summer temperatures and humidity down to comfortable levels. The experience was underpinned by a pre-booking digital RFID system that supported venue security and powered several activities, with content posted automatically to Facebook. Guests across the events numbered almost 12,500, with significant positive PR surrounding the experience.
My Role
I came up with the design after seeing a lotus-shaped building in India. The design evolved as the budget changed, and we eventually rationalised it to the client as “sails” on traditional Qatari dhows.
