Doha, Qatar
The 100-meter tall Gateway Arches, designed by Erik Behrens with AECOM, have turned the barren infrastructure of a busy expressway into an immersive public artwork.
Commissioned by Ashghal Public Works Authority of Qatar, the arches include a suspended viewing platform and visitor center, also designed by architect Erik Behrens.
Completed in 2020, the Gateway Arches, also known as Al Wahda Arches, span across the Lusail expressway in Doha, Qatar.
The Gateway Arches have recently been awarded a 2022 International Architecture Award by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.
The unique intertwined and tilted arches and cable net, reference Qatar’s pearl-diving heritage.
The artwork has become a source of national pride and identity, setting a template for how ubiquitous road infrastructure can be heightened to become part of the local cultural fabric.
The pair of steel arches consists of 54 large steel pieces and weighs over 9,000 tons.
The bases of the arches are clad in Limra limestone from Turkey.
Project: Gateway Arches
Architects: AECOM
Lead Architect: Erik Behrens
Contractor: Eversendai Engineering Qatar WLL
Client: Ashghal Public Works Authority of Qatar
Photographers: Vedran Strelar, Ashghal, Erik Behrens, Markus Elblaus, Naser al Omari, and Satheesh Madh
