Hamad Airport today announced the opening of the "Orchard" the new garden-based concourse extension located at the end of Concourse C. It looks stunning, with an indoor rainforest complete with waterfalls, and 160 stores and restaurants and two lounges. The airport capacity has also increased massively with several gates also opened just in time for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

It also boasts a massive lounge for Platinum and Gold card members, a new Murjan Lounge, other lounges as well.

This concourse area will only be accessible from the airside unlike Singapore's "the Jewel" which is accessible both airside and landside.

Al-baker announced a further expansion of the airport commencing 2023 after the World Cup and even a further expansion after that, with a new terminal built to the left of the left runway.












https://thepeninsulaqatar.com/article/1 ... qatar-2022

Looks and sound fairly impressive. Hopefully I’ll be going through sometime in the new year and it’ll be great to try out the new lounge, it was always somewhat disappointing to have a short connection at DOH as spending time in the al mourjan was quite good, looks like I’ll choose the 8hr connection times from now on….

Fred


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It looks great! Very beautiful jewel structures and the green surrounding.

Though not to get Mr. Al Baker mad, it does remind me a bit of Singapore Changi....

For a moment I thought it was Singapore Changi

Kinda looks like you combined SIN, KUL, and DOH all together.

I'll be transiting through there in mid-February. I can't wait to check it out. I didn't even know this was under construction.

Since I'll be flying J (Q-Suite), will I have access to any of the new lounges in this part of the terminal/concourse?

They .... were inspired by Singapore, weren't they? Not only the Jewel but also tiny mega trees (sixth picture). I am impress with their ..... ideas.

Changi's jewel is still way more impressive. Cant wait to see what they have up the sleeves for that new mega T5.

Is the Qatari administration still opening up the old airport for the World Cup? Are there long-term plans to merge both airports?

Reminds me of a tighter Atocha station.

Helluva HVAC system that they must have.

Boeing757100 wrote:

It looks great! Very beautiful jewel structures and the green surrounding.

Though not to get Mr. Al Baker mad, it does remind me a bit of Singapore Changi....

Apparently Al Baker got annoyed with some journalists when they made this comparison.

My original post was removed probably because someone was a bit offended I mentioned something about migrant workers that was directly related to the construction of this, but never mind.

Any idea how many additional gates comes with this update?

Beautiful expansion

Looks nice but out of place. The last thing I'd expect after landing in Doha is a rain forest. Would much prefer it if they hadn't copied other airports and instead came up with something original that reflects their own country's heritage and environment.

Prost wrote:

Helluva HVAC system that they must have.

Agreed. All I could think of looking at the pictures is how much energy it must take to keep the place cool with all the windows and all the greenhouse gasses burning that energy is creating.

Looks craptacular

No one will the have the times betweens flights to look this classless creation

GripenFan wrote:

Prost wrote:

Helluva HVAC system that they must have.

Agreed. All I could think of looking at the pictures is how much energy it must take to keep the place cool with all the windows and all the greenhouse gasses burning that energy is creating.

It was my first thought as well. My second one was that it has nothing to do with Qatar's landscape.

Meanwhile in London.....

It's very pretty, but indoor rainforest are not a unique feature in transportation hubs and with airports in particular Changi has that crown.
I guess forests are kind-off timeless and nature and sustainability are very much a trend right now.
The irony that this is an airport is not lost on me.

I wonder that the next theme will be in this destination airport trend.

I vote retro-futurism. Have passengers plug in to the game grid before they board their flights.

I believe the OP mistaken the pictures with SIN Changi ones...

Seeing this just makes me want to go to Singapore, not Doha.

Look like a strange blend of both the Jewel and Gardens by the Bay - both in Singapore......

Changi is starting to look a lil dinky....

Hamad Airport including the expansion was originally designed by HOK, early on the expansion was redesigned by Norman Foster architects to include the indoor garden. The design was to have a flat roof and outdoor areas too, this was later refined. The concepts in SIN and DOH happened in parallel but the construction started later in DOH.

This is an older render with the flatter roof over the indoor garden and a different design for the concourses. It also includes the concourse on the other side of the runway.



An article from 2014:

http://www.tradearabia.com/news/CONS_267582.html

phatfarmlines wrote:

Is the Qatari administration still opening up the old airport for the World Cup? Are there long-term plans to merge both airports?

The old airport never shut down, it was available for charters. The old pax terminal was shut, but has been renovated and re-opened. Right now several scheduled airlines moved over temporarily and the world cup specific flights will mostly go there.

It's a good analogy. Changi and Singapore Airlines are Boutique, while Doha and Qatar are budget boutique.

Reminds me so much of Changi and a little but of KUL's jungle. Having transmitted on DOH several times, the airport is really an almost identical copy of HKIA

I wonder where else is AAB stealing or borrowing ideas from and claiming to be his...

Pelly wrote:

Hamad Airport including the expansion was originally designed by HOK, early on the expansion was redesigned by Norman Foster architects to include the indoor garden. The design was to have a flat roof and outdoor areas too, this was later refined. The concepts in SIN and DOH happened in parallel but the construction started later in DOH.

SIN has had a tropical theme and gardens since T1 first opened in 1981. It is a common theme across all terminals and it makes sense because Singapore is a tropical country. DOH out right stole Changi's idea and applied it where it doesn't belong.

airbazar wrote:

Looks nice but out of place. The last thing I'd expect after landing in Doha is a rain forest. Would much prefer it if they hadn't copied other airports and instead came up with something original that reflects their own country's heritage and environment.

Perhaps they're seeking not just to emulate the Singaporean architecture but also their heritage and environment. SG tends to be more progressive on many political topics and is viewed relatively favorably around the world.

Please stick to the topic and keep it aviation related

airbazar wrote:

SIN has had a tropical theme and gardens since T1 first opened in 1981. It is a common theme across all terminals and it makes sense because Singapore is a tropical country. DOH out right stole Changi's idea and applied it where it doesn't belong.

So now its not to do with the Jewel, but the general tropical theme and the concept of indoor gardens, and repeating ideas is out right stealing and there is an issue with applying something where it doesn't belong. Let's apply the same standards to Singapore Airport (which is probably my favourite airport).

Singapore Airport has lounges, retail, jetbridges, baggage carousels, parallel runways all things pioneered by other airports. Should duty free in its current form be only at Shannon Airport since they have innovated the concept and all other airports avoid it as that would be copying and stealing? Maybe jetbridges should be confined to O'Hare since that was were it was first used and all other airports that use it would be stealing an idea. Should Changi not have been inspired by Schipol when they designed the airport? Of course not, I would welcome airports taking the good ideas from other airports, applying best practices and adding amenities.

Imagine applying your logic to airlines, all those airlines with flat business class seats stole the idea from British Airways and what is with airlines adding doors all of a sudden in business class, they should innovate not steal ideas. Whenever there is a great idea, PTV, inflight internet, live tv there will always be a first airline and other airlines will copy and add these amenities that is a good thing overall for passengers.

Now lets talk about things out of place, Singapore airport has global food offerings, should they just confine themselves to Singaporean options to not be out of place? They currently have a Monet exhibition, what does that have to do with Singapore? They have retail concepts from around the world, in fact shops that exist in other airports too, why dont they stick to Singaporean brands? There is cactus garden at the airport with "100 species of cacti and arid plants from the deserts and dry areas of Asia, Africa and America." I don't associate arid environments with Singapore. I don't consider any of these things an issue, Changi is a global hub catering to a global and diverse set of passengers.



Are you offended by a renaissance italian painting (Mona Lisa) being the star attraction at a French museum (Louvre), should the Met Museum in New York close down their Egyptian section as that is in a place it doesn't belong. How about the tropical plants at Kew Gardens in London, what is a tropical garden doing at 51 degrees north? oh wait those are indoor tropical gardens so Singapore outright stole that idea.

Now back to Hamad Airport. It doesn't have a tropical theme, the theme is abstract nautical due to its setting by the water and this was applied in some elements like the wavy roof. The new indoor garden is an amenity and not the theme of the airport, it allows people who are on long transits to enjoy natural light and greenery. It is an amenity just like the extensive retail (local and international brands), the food offerings (local and international cuisine), the lounges, the gym, the swimming pool, the airside hotel, museum, the spas, free medical centre and so on. All these things exist in many other airports too. The airport has an large art collection on display too, again from local and international artists and with local themes as well as non-localised themes.

Going back to the garden it being out of place, a couple of points:

1. that is not the only place where indoor and outdoor landscaping exist and around most of the airport the theme is more on local plants.





2. You can see here the palm trees, acacia and some local shrubs in this image of the new garden.




3. The desert in Qatar is not just sand dunes, there are meadows in the desert and mangrove forests with some of the local plants used in that garden.

Let's be honest, It looks like smaller less impressive version of Changi's Jewel. The area doesn't look lush enough and the waterfall looks like it was cheaply made.

ewt340 wrote:

Let's be honest, It looks like smaller less impressive version of Changi's Jewel. The area doesn't look lush enough and the waterfall looks like it was cheaply made.

Agree. And Changi's Jewel is more for locals than tourists. I mean go through there on a Saturday or Sunday and everyone from Singapore is in there.

anstar wrote:

ewt340 wrote:

Let's be honest, It looks like smaller less impressive version of Changi's Jewel. The area doesn't look lush enough and the waterfall looks like it was cheaply made.

Agree. And Changi's Jewel is more for locals than tourists. I mean go through there on a Saturday or Sunday and everyone from Singapore is in there.

This extension at Hamad Airport is completely airside extension called and it serves the passengers connecting and departing the gates in that area, its neither for tourists nor for locals It doesn't serve the same purpose that the Jewel does. It was an extension to add to the retail space, lounge space, another hotel, transit passenger processing, more gates and baggage processing capacity AIRSIDE at the north end of the terminal. For transit passengers they can access the area without having to go through customs or go through security again.

One of the issues the designers had was that they were not able to satisfy some users by making it more impressive and lush than the Jewel while at the same time satisfying the opinion of others user of not making it too lush so as to not feel out of place as an airport in a desert environment. I guess they should not have bothered giving passengers airside access to greenery and natural light and kept it as a typical airport concourse like almost every other airport.

Boeing757100 wrote:

It looks great! Very beautiful jewel structures and the green surrounding.

Though not to get Mr. Al Baker mad, it does remind me a bit of Singapore Changi....

Third time posting this (perhaps the poster with the Taliban flag as their avatar keeps reporting me) but Al Baker got rather upset at some journalists when they made the comparison.