| Embassy of Qatar, Washington, D.C. | |
|---|---|
| Embassy of Qatar, Washington, D.C..jpg View of the front of the embassy |
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| General information | |
| Architectural style | Postmodern |
| Location | 2555 M Street, Northwest, Washington, D.C. 20037 |
| Coordinates | |
| Completed | 2003-2005 approx. |
| Technical details | |
| Floor area | 80,000 sq ft (7,000 m2) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Mokhless Al-Hariri, Ph.D., AIA |
The Embassy of Qatar in Washington, D.C. houses Qatar's diplomatic mission to the United States. The chancery is located at 2555 M Street NW on the western edge of the West End near the Georgetown neighborhood.[1][2]
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Until 2005, the embassy was located in an office building at 4200 Wisconsin Avenue N.W.[3] For many years the embassy consisted of only two diplomats and a handful of staffers. In recent years, however, Qatar has been working to make itself a banking, business, and tourism centre and this created a need for a larger embassy. So too did the growing strategic partnership between Qatar and the U.S. that has seen large numbers of American forces based in the country. In 2001, Qatar purchased the current building for $13.6 million from Castleton Holdings. The building had previously held law offices. The current ambassador is Ali Bin Fahad Al-Hajri.
The Qatar government retained the professional services of The Georgetown Design Group, Inc. (GDG) with Mokhless Al-Hariri, Ph.D., AIA, as the lead-architect to fully renovate the building.
In keeping with applicable regulations, the project required statutory reviews and approval by several U.S. governmental agencies including the Office of Foreign Missions, United States Commission of Fine Arts, the District of Columbia Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, and the Advisory Neighborhood Commission.
After all the necessary permits were obtained by The Georgetown Design Group, the Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB), which was then financing the project, considered reducing the project’s scope of work. The Qatar Ministry of Foreign Affairs, however, opted to implement the project in accordance with Mokhless Al-Hariri's design. The Embassy moved to its new building in early 2005.
According to the architect, Mokhless Al-Hariri, “the renovated building’s design is intended to reflect Qatar’s dynamic growth and expending diplomatic and economic role.”
Additional design input can also be credited to Maria Midani and Barbara Mullnex. The new exteriors incorporate Arabic design motifs that harmoniously express Qatar’s cultural heritage within Washington, D.C.’s urban fabric. The fully renovated interiors include plush office suites, state-of-the-art conference-rooms, special-event spaces, and "highly customized finishes."