In preparation for the huge volume of visitors to the FIFA World, Qatar has come up with an ingenious plan to build 16 floating hotels to help accommodate the influx of fans ...
Hosting a World Cup of course brings economic advantages to any host city but behind the scenes it is a logistically nightmare, transport links have to be provided and of course hotels have to be built to be provide accommodation for visiting fans, but if past events are anything to go by once the World Cup ends these newly built buildings often become unused and underutilized. To combat this Finnish firm Sigge Architect and "alternative real estate" company Admares for Qetaifan Projects, a subsidiary of Katara Hospitality, the largest hotel owner in Qatar have come up with an alternative solution to create 16 floating hotels on Qetaifan Island North, which is close to Lusail International Stadium, where the opening and final games will be held.
Spanning approximately 1.3 million square meters with 830,000 square meters of attractions and seven beaches, the hosting island of Qetaifan Island North is the ideal solution to accommodate a large number of people along with the 16 floating hotels which will measure 72-meter-long and 16-meter-wide (236-feet-long and 52-feet-wide), each will provide 101 guest rooms, a restaurant, and a lounge bar providing a total of 1616 floating hotel rooms, then once the games are finished the hotels can be moved to any coastal area with water that is at least 13 feet deep.
The floating hotels will also deliver sustainable solutions with minimum ecological impact as the hotels will be built according to the strictest energy standards – for instance the hotels will rely on solar energy. To ensure the overall functionality and attractiveness of the hotels, the modern and urban buildings aesthetic will be provide a minimalist appeal mixing warm woods and white walls.
Whilst the project is not underway yet A DMARES hotels have said that interested guests will be able to book the unique rooms one year out from the games, via global travel sites like Expedia and Booking.com.
