Architecture and Design: Turning Vision into a Universal Dialogue

Exhibitions, workshops, lectures, screenings, and academic collaborations, come together to create a global workshop where architecture is celebrated, debated, reimagined, and projected into the future. Led by prominent design practices such as Starck, Lina Ghotmeh Architecture, and Herzog & de Meuron, the programme fosters hands-on learning, cross-cultural dialogue, and experimentation. Developed with international and regional universities, it welcomes students and the wider public, aligning with major cultural events like Qatar Creates (QC), Art Basel, and Design Doha, and connecting I.M. Pei’s legacy to the questions shaping architecture today.

In addition, a vibrant line-up of public programmes—including curator-led tours, workshops, storytime sessions, activations for teens, and more—will be hosted at the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) and Qatar Museums Gallery – Al Riwaq to complement both the exhibitions.

MODULE: Launch Dialogues

29 October–3 November 2025

During the first module, the I.M. Pei programme offers a dynamic blend of international architectural dialogue and hands-on creative exploration. A panel discussion delves into the history and curatorial strategy of the Venice Biennale’s architecture exhibitions, examining how visions and institutions have shaped global architectural discourse. Complementing this, the workshop invites participants to develop innovative mashrabiya (a type of wooden lattice) and brise-soleil (heat shielding architecture) concepts—rooted in the Art Mill project—by blending local design traditions with climate-responsive practices, culminating in conceptual and physical model creation.

MODULE: Archiving Modernism

9–10 November 2025

This module immerses participants in the diverse currents of modern architecture and architectural innovation in the Arab world. A foundational lecture explores regional modernism, followed by interactive workshops introducing the creative activation of architectural archives as sources for research, exhibitions, and contemporary practice.

A debate focuses on the future of archiving modernism in Qatar, while a trio of short films provides vivid perspectives on architectural memory in Beirut, Cairo, and Rabat. Additionally, hands-on workshops—including a five-day workshop around Qatar Preparatory School (QPS)—investigate avant-garde practices such as respectful restructuring, prefabrication techniques, sustainable construction systems, and the integration of agriculture into design, inviting participants to prototype climate-responsive and environmentally innovative solutions.

MODULE: Hot is Cool

18–22 November 2025

This module challenges participants to rethink how architecture can naturally create comfort in hot climates by harnessing both tradition and innovation. Anchored around Philippe Starck's workshop at QPS, the programme explores strategies for “building coolness through warmth,” drawing on local vernacular techniques alongside cutting-edge technologies. Through design exercises, lectures, and collaborative prototyping, participants will investigate natural cooling systems that integrate passive and active approaches.

The module emphasies how these solutions can be applied within the QPS building and replicated across the broader campus project, ultimately shaping sustainable and culturally rooted models for the future of architecture in the region.

MODULE: Modernity in Dialogue

17–18 November 2025

This module centers on the evolution and impact of architectural practice in South Asia, featuring a three-part lecture series that traces the design trajectory in Pakistan from Independence, investigates innovative adaptation of historic urban spaces, and explores urgent climate mitigation strategies in architecture.

This module highlights the potential of adaptive reuse and cultural preservation as avenues toward sustainable futures, and is enriched by a curated slideshow, Region and Modernity, which deepens understanding of regional influences on modern architectural thought.

MODULE: Rooted Narratives

23–25 November 2025

This module invites participants to engage deeply with adaptive reuse and cultural preservation through a cross-cultural dialogue. The workshop explores conservation as a transformative process, emphasising poetic materiality and how art can become a joyful and meaningful tool bridging past and present architectural narratives.

MODULE: Impression & Innovation

30 November–4 December 2025

This module delves into casting as an innovative, hands-on design technique grounded in regional materiality. Participants will create gypsum molds by directly capturing the textures of the desert landscape, then transform these natural impressions into refined architectural models through immersive experimentation with materials and form.

MODULE: Open Studio

8–11 December 2025

This module offers a curated series of architectural film screenings open to the public, presenting diverse perspectives on architecture, design, and urbanism. These screenings provide an engaging platform for visual storytelling that explores the cultural, social, and creative dimensions of architecture. Through these films, the programme fosters a shared experience and dialogue between professionals, students, and the wider community.

MODULE: Speculative Futures

14–15 December 2025

This module engages participants with the dynamic interplay of colour, technology, and utopian vision in contemporary architecture. Two lectures dissect this theme: the first explores the pervasive role of colour through Atelier Manferdini’s practice, anchored by insights from the book Full Spectrum: Colour in Contemporary Architecture; the second examines the transformative influence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on design creativity, focusing on Manferdini’s work for the Rome Opera House and broader questions of authorship and innovation. Complementing these talks, a five-day workshop titled Chimera: The Architecture of Contemporary Utopias invites participants to critically explore utopian ideas in architecture through AI-driven visualisation techniques, producing images, videos, and prints for a culminating exhibition.

MODULE: Practice Across Borders

21–25 December 2025

This module examines the intersection of global and regional narratives within contemporary architectural practice, using Doha as a living laboratory of cultural exchange. Through urban mapping, storytelling, and spatial analysis, participants trace vernacular practices shaped by diasporic networks across South Asia, East Africa, the Gulf, and the broader Islamic world. The workshop led by Sumayya Vally, explores typologies of gathering, care, and everyday life - courtyards, markets, rituals, and informal economies - revealing how architecture emerges from lived experience. By translating these observations into design methodologies, participants develop inclusive urban imaginaries grounded in cultural multiplicity and local knowledge.

MODULE: Design in Progress

28 December 2025–1 January 2026

This module is dedicated to exploring design as an evolving and dynamic process. Participants will engage with ongoing events and methodologies that reflect both global trends and local innovations. The module provides a unique opportunity to discover Qatar’s distinctive design ecosystem, including its integration of cultural heritage, contemporary architectural practices, and regulatory frameworks.

MODULE: Architecture as Language

5–10 January 2026

This module invites participants to explore architecture as a vibrant intersection of creative disciplines and cultures. Through playful and experimental design, the workshop focuses on creating public pavilions, playgrounds, and dynamic subspaces. Emphasising a research-driven approach, attendees translate artistic visions into tangible-built forms, treating architecture as a compelling language that transcends borders.

MODULE: Exhibiting Ideas

11–15 January 2026

This module offers an intensive exploration of the exhibition-making process from concept to completion, covering curating, exhibition design, and wayfinding. Participants will engage with each stage of creating an exhibition—from developing curatorial narratives and spatial layouts to crafting visitor journeys through visual communication and signage. The module emphasises the dialogue between design and storytelling, providing a comprehensive understanding of how exhibitions translate ideas into meaningful spatial experiences.

MODULE: Playful Futures

12–15 January 2026

This module, led by Ben van Berkel and the UNStudio team, invites participants to reimagine the public space linking the Doha Metro station to Dadu Gardens at the Dadu, Children’s Museum of Qatar. Through site immersion, user-centred exercises, and hands-on prototyping, students will explore how inclusivity, playfulness, sustainability, and storytelling can shape vibrant civic spaces. Material experimentation and collaborative design sessions will guide participants in producing innovative proposals that engage both children and the wider community. The workshop culminates in design concepts that present new ways of thinking about public space in Doha—spaces that foster interaction, creativity, and belonging.

MODULE: Rethinking Spaces

22 January–1 February 2026

This module explores strategies for the transformation of underused and obsolete buildings through a dialogue between research and practice. Anchored by a public lecture inspired by Foster + Partners’ global portfolio, delivered by Angus Campbell, and a hands-on workshop led by Jakob+MacFarlane, the module examines how architecture can reimagine existing structures as dynamic civic and cultural platforms. Participants investigated adaptive reuse, spatial flexibility, and programmatic reinvention, developing proposals that extend the social and architectural life of buildings while responding creatively to contemporary urban needs.

MODULE: Geometries of Meaning

1–7 February 2026

This module examines how architects can translate the essence of a site into meaningful architectural expressions. Anchored in critical readings such as Juhani Pallasmaa's Eyes of the Skin and Kenneth Frampton's Towards a Critical Regionalism, participants will explore how multisensory perception and contextual analysis shape the architectural response to place. Through the study of I. M. Pei's works—most notably the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) in Doha—students will analyse how climate, geography, culture, and history inform architectural vocabulary. The workshop emphasises identifying the elements of design that generate both visual and experiential narratives, guiding participants toward creating architecture that is contextually responsive, culturally rooted, and deeply resonant.

MODULE: Reflections and Futures

8–14 February 2026

This module culminates with the final exhibition showcasing the students’ work developed throughout the intensive workshops during the Architecture and Design programme. The grand finale highlights their creative explorations, research, and architectural models, celebrating their growth and achievements in dialogue with the legacy and principles of I. M. Pei’s architectural vision.