Proposal : Public Space for Migrant Workers in Doha

Based on my own experience and backed up, albeit in a more dramatic fashion, by news articles* such as Peter Townson's 'Souq shock' piece for the Gulf Times, there is a noticeable absence of Doha's majority class of migrant workers in public spaces around the city. Accepting that a single urban intervention, whether large or small, likely will not change the structure of a society simply through the act of its creation, I propose to create a public urban space that fulfills the needs of migrant workers in Doha for a societally acceptable zone of leisure activity that also addresses environmental conditions as well as the unique economic and urban conditions specific to the labor class. While not explicitly engaging in either polemical or utopian debates by attempting to integrate the wealthiest and poorest members of Qatari society in one stroke, I believe that the selection of a site for the proposal outlined below will allow me to address the disparity between classes in the occupation of social space in at least an oblique or associative manner.

In focusing on the migrant worker class in Doha, three main issues emerge immediately that will inform the programmatic and architectural development of the project as it moves forward- economics, the social (here not synonymous with sociopolitical) element, and climate. The first two are indicative of the labor class- as migrant workers, the majority are in Doha to earn higher wages than was possible in their home countries, with the intent of sending the majority of their earnings back home to their families. As such, there is little disposable income left for these men and women to spend beyond necessities of living (food or cell phone minutes, for example). Secondly, there is a current trend of appropriating public areas such as parking lots or specific sidewalks near banks or outside other public venues on Fridays (the laborers' day off) as a means for the labor population to socialize away from their housing blocks or places of work.

Workers congregating beneath the sculpture on Grand Hamad St. on a Friday.

 The last issue, that of climate, hardly needs explanation, though it is necessary to point out that, as it stands, with laborers largely barred from malls and other large-scale public leisure venues, their are few options for recreation on Friday afternoons in the summer months.

Taking these three issues into consideration, I am proposing to design an outdoor market and social area specifically for migrant laborers that takes full advantage of passive cooling methods such as shading and natural ventilation with the aim of creating a space that can be used year round. The market area will supply the workers with a venue to buy non-grocery necessities or less tourist-oriented items of interest, while a larger public social space such as a playing field or a mosque will meet the need for a large space for the workers to congregate and socialize without blocking whole blocks of sidewalk or appropriating whole parking lots or small green spaces. Finally, by taking advantage of passive cooling techniques, this project can address the need of the labor class for a summertime social venue while setting an example for the city as sustainable initiatives gain momentum.

  
*Note: The article cited above and similar sources are reporting from 2008. When I visited in 2010, there was a noticeable absence of laborers in the more tourist- or family-oriented souqs, though there were no violent altercations between workers and security.