Qatar Selects Architect Frida Escobedo to Design a New Headquarters Complex for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

His Excellency the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani said," ‏I am grateful to His Highness The Amir for his vision for the nation. MOFA's new headquarters that will be built, will represent an icon for the nation's diplomacy, and a source of pride for our people through reflecting Qatar's leading global role in diplomatic negotiations and fostering productive international dialogue and cooperation. Many thanks to H.E. Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani for her role in ensuring that this new home for the Ministry will support all our needs within an extraordinary architectural landmark."

DOHA, Qatar, 04/12/2025 (informazione.news - comunicati stampa - turismo)

His Excellency the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani said," ‏I am grateful to His Highness The Amir for his vision for the nation. MOFA's new headquarters that will be built, will represent an icon for the nation's diplomacy, and a source of pride for our people through reflecting Qatar's leading global role in diplomatic negotiations and fostering productive international dialogue and cooperation. Many thanks to H.E. Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani for her role in ensuring that this new home for the Ministry will support all our needs within an extraordinary architectural landmark."

Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Chairperson of Qatar Museums, led the competition in her role as Chairperson of Qatar Blueprint, a comprehensive initiative to guide development across the nation in cooperation with public entities and the private sector. Creation of the new Ministry headquarters will include a public cultural component in the repurposed General Post Office. The project advances Qatar Blueprint's goals for urban and architectural planning, heritage preservation, adaptive reuse initiatives, and excellence in architectural design.

Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa said, "I thank His Highness The Amir for elevating Qatar's global position and role. I also thank His Excellency the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs for his efforts to elevate Qatar's role as a prominent and active player in international diplomacy. Sincere appreciation goes to Ashghal, Qatar's Public Works Authority, for its cooperation throughout the competition. I warmly congratulate Frida Escobedo, a major international talent, on her selection to design the new Ministry headquarters. Her design furthers our commitment to heritage preservation through sustainability and adaptive reuse while giving Qatar its next architectural masterpiece."

Frida Escobedo's human-scaled and courtyard-centered design envisions the new Ministry of Foreign Affairs complex in Doha as a rhythmic composition of volumes that build on one another, creating a threshold between Qatar's heritage and its global future. Gently terracing northward, the new construction will preserve sightlines of the iconic General Post Office, incorporating elements into its façade as part of a vital adaptive reuse endeavor, while visually anchoring the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the site's history. The building's exterior will form an enveloping structure composed of vertical pillars that balance shade, privacy and transparency, and an inviting interior will feature a series of green patios designed for reflection, gathering, and art. This dialogue between architecture and landscape will extend into the General Post Office, whose ground floor will be transformed into an exhibition space that transitions into a covered garden. Rooted in the nation's ongoing investment in diplomacy, art, and architecture, the project reaffirms Qatar's role both as a cultural anchor for Doha and a symbolic gateway to the world.

Frida Escobedo Studio, with Buro Happold engineers and Studio Zewde landscape designers, was selected out of an initial group of 40 invited architectural teams and a shortlist of seven. In keeping with the mission of the Ministry, the selection process was fully international, with architects from every continent invited to participate. The competition was organised and managed by Malcolm Reading Consultants on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Qatar Museums.

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