Doha is known for its sweltering heat during summers, during which time people tend to stay mostly indoors.

However, more and more new constructions coming up in different parts of the country now are focusing on making things cooler and more manageable for its residents with the help of sustainable developments.

When temperatures go through the roof during summers, museum manager Fahad Al Turky tends to drive a lot and stay mainly indoors. But staying cool is getting more comfortable in Msheireb Downtown Doha, where he works.

This is because developers of the 76-acre regeneration zone, which aims to become ‘one of the largest sustainable cities in the world,’ are outfitting it with green features, from rainwater harvesting to shady overhangs that make walking outside cooler, according to Al Jazeera.

“To be able to walk to get coffee outside or to a restaurant, it’s a different kind of experience,” said Al Turky, who is 30. Around Doha’s traditional office towers, he said, “there isn’t much shade.”
Many of the more than 100 buildings in Msheireb — apartments, offices, hotels, a shopping mall and a primary school — are fitted with solar panels, solar water heaters and overhangs designed to shade the surrounding sidewalks.

The mixed-use district, eight years in construction and preparing for its first residents this spring, also has hidden features such as underground waste collection stations and will connect to planned public transport in the city.

There are systems that recover rainwater and air conditioning condensation into basement tanks, where the water is reused for irrigation and to flush toilets, reported The Peninsula.

“In Msheireb, we are taking the responsibility of building a sustainable city and looking after our environment here, and looking to lower carbon dioxide emissions,” said Ali Saleh Al Yafei, the project manager at Msheireb Properties, which is developing the district.

Across the oil-producing Gulf, officials are eager to demonstrate that their countries can be as effective stewards of the environment as other nations.

Msheireb developers hope their project could show how Qatar — and the rest of the Middle East — could cut emissions to help hold the line on climate change, in part by using fewer fossil fuels and less water.

“This is the way forward in the region, and many developments are thinking about sustainability and green buildings to help the climate not to get hotter,” said Al Yafei.

In Lusail, a new city being built 23km north of Doha and the planned home of one of the World Cup stadiums, a light rail system and water-saving irrigation systems are being put in place.

The city is also being designed with plenty of trees and green spaces, to help keep the nation cooler. 

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