Offshore hotel for Qatar World Cup

Castedo Architects, a New York-based architecture firm, has unveiled its designs for a 1,000-room luxury resort and conference facility, known as the Silver Pearl Hotel for the Qatar 2022 football World Cup. It is located 1.5 km off the Doha coastline in the Persian Gulf.

The $1.6 billion design consists of two 30-storey semicircular towers connected by a full-height transparent, climate-controlled atrium, which has unimpeded views of the sea and beyond. The hotel can be accessed through a four-lane elevated causeway over the sea or by private yacht or helicopter. 

The hotel’s semicircular design makes a reference to Qatar’s pearl diving history with the hotel’s reflection in water completing the sphere. The effect will become even more dramatic when LED lights, which will illuminate the building’s facade, resulting in an illusion of “shimmering pearl glowing brightly in the Arabian Sea”.

The architects reveal that the complex has been designed to have minimal environmental impact, with the hotel’s entire structure being raised off the seabed to allow unimpeded ocean currents.

The project team for the construction of the building will include an environmental consultant who has extensive experience with marine life in the area to ensure that lessons learned on Dubai’s The Palm and The World artificial islands are incorporated into the design of the Silver Pearl Hotel.