Idrees Rasouli

Design and Urban Innovation


About
News

Practice
Projects
  1. SSE HQ
  2. Tate II
  3. Jebel al-Jais
  4. CCTV HQ
  5. Qatar Library
  6. The C
  7. Rotana
  8. Aspire Zone
  9. Eton Finish Line
  10. Hucknall Links
  11. Inner Harbour
  12. Lusail Marine
  13. River Soar


Research
Projects
  1. GATEway 2030
  2. Child’s Playground
  3. World of Hope
  4. Ford Autonomous
  5. Peace Garden
  6. Celebrating Life
  7. Mangai
  8. Ghost
  9. Seoul Social Software
  10. Tokyo Social Software
  11. Microkinetics
  12. Beyond Grey
  13. Future Mill Road
  14. Digital Preparation
  15. Decolonised Innovation


Start-ups
Ventures/Enterprises
  1. Qaf 1.0
  2. Sealeaf 1.0
  3. Create Cambridge


Teaching
Learning/Activities
  1. Artefacts
  2. Healthy Cities
  3. Future of Work
  4. Urban Interventions
  5. Care & Resilience
  6. Smart Workplace
  7. Design Ethics
  8. Critical Thinking + Doing
  9. Urban Justice
  10. Urban Innovation


Pedagogy
Education/Scholarship
  1. Rethinking Creativity
  2. Repositioning the Art School
  3. Multi-course Structure
  4. Cross-cultural Pedagogy & Practice


Publications
Articles/Reports
  1. Post-Disaster Social Regeneration
  2. Disaster Recovery by Design
  3. Human-Connected Leadership
  4. Decolonised Innovation
  5. Rethinking Urban Partnership
  6. Designing Under Extreme Resource Constraints


Presentations
Talks/Workshops
  1. The Architecture of Money
  2. The Six Realities
  3. Reduced Inequalities
  4. Resilience Through Design
  5. Is the Future Inclusive?
  6. The Thinking City
  7. AI and Creativity
  8. Technology for Social Good
  9. Tradition vs. Innovation
  10. Rethinking Civic Engagement



© 2025 Idrees Rasouli
Mark

Qatar Central Library
Building and Interior Design





— Building Qatar’s Heritage and Future with Knowledge —


Context & Location.

Spatial, Heritage, & Cultural References.


> The library is conceived as a single room which houses people and books. The edges of the building are lifted from the ground to create three aisles which accommodate the book collection and enclose a central triangular space. This configuration also allows the visitor to access the building at its centre, rather than laboriously entering from the perimeter.



Concept.


> Historically, the sea has formed an essential aspect of the lives of the citizens of Qatar and pearl hunting is considered one of the oldest professions in the Gulf region. The shell of a pearl acts as a preserving body, a base which holds the pearl intact as a form of reward for its founder. Similarly, the library building is designed as a shell that preserves the heritage of the region whilst creating spaces for inquiring minds to collaborate & learn, providing open space environment and clear visibility throughout the library.



Site Intervention.

Programme Diagram.
Entrace.

Basement Floor.
Ground Floor.

First Floor.
Second Floor.
Roof.

Spatial Experiences.


Floor Plate Strategy.


Circulation Types.

Browsing & Interacting.
Reading & Socialising.


Organisation + [Credits]
OMA/Rem Koolhaas, [OMA + Qatar Living]

Role + [Team Size]
Architectural Designer, [8]

Date + [Duration of Involvement]
2009, [6 months]

Client + [Project Location]
Qatar Education City, [Doha, Qatar]

Status + [Project Type]
Built, [Design Concept, Detail & Production]

Brief + [Challenge]
Rethinking the Learning Space, [New Library Typology]



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Mark