Location
Doha, Qatar

Date
2023–ongoing

Client
JMJ Group Holding

Operator
SLS Hotels and Residences

Design Architect
Zaha Hadid Architects

Executive Architect + MEP
FD Consult

Landscape
Cracknell

Interior Designer
Design Lab

Facade + Sustainability
Werner + Sobek

Structural Engineers
FHECOR

Images
Zaha Hadid Architects | Atchan

ZHA unveils design for The Grove, a new seafront neighbourhood and marina in Qatar for JMJ Group Holding in collaboration with Qetaifan Projects. SEAM Design brings enhancements, comfort and identity at night with light.

Comprised of 293 apartments offering panoramic views of Qetaifan Bay and the Lusail skyline, The Grove has been designed with its waterfront promenade as the heart of the community.

Passive design strategies are combined with advanced cooling technologies powered by on-site renewables to enable residents and visitors to enjoy outdoor living, dining and recreation along the neighbourhood’s waterfront promenade throughout the year.

Defining the development's unique geometries, the façades are characterized by an interplay of vertical and horizontal 'scoops' designed to meet Global Sustainability Assessment System (GSAS) targets of less than 50% glazing.

Qatar's JMJ Group Holding in collaboration with Qetaifan Projects has unveiled The Grove, a new seafront neighbourhood and marina by Zaha Hadid Architects incorporating the highest standards of design and sustainability.

Comprised of 293 one- to four-bedroom apartments offering panoramic views of Qetaifan Bay and the Lusail skyline, The Grove has been designed with its waterfront promenade as the heart of the community. A tree-lined pedestrian street along the shore, The Grove's waterfront promenade will incorporate the local cafes and restaurants, as well as the local shops and boutiques that enrich the vibrancy of enticing neighbourhoods around the world.

Passive design strategies are combined with advanced cooling technologies to enable residents and visitors to enjoy outdoor living, dining and recreation along the neighbourhood’s waterfront promenade throughout the year. Powered by on-site renewables and developed for optimum efficiencies, the re-utilization of pre-cooled extracted air from the buildings will cool the promenade during warmer months to enhance comfort.

Maximizing The Grove’s renewable energy potential while minimizing consumption, the development’s cooling energy demand is reduced with integrated shading and the high thermal mass of its low-carbon concrete structure including foundations designed to transfer heat away from the buildings. Photovoltaic panels within the optimized building envelope will be complemented by energy supplied via a high-efficiency geothermal heat pump system.

Rainwater harvesting, alongside micro-irrigation systems for locally acclimatised plants, will curtail water demand whilst a network of photovoltaic ‘trees’ throughout the promenade will enhance outdoor comfort and combine shading, water harvesting, lighting, and renewable energy production.

Supported by The Grove’s interconnecting podium is an elevated landscape of sheltered walkways, verdant gardens and terraces with infinity pools offering residents and guests uninterrupted views across the bay. The residents' members’ club, wellness center, entertainment lounge and other amenities are located at this level to directly connect with this elevated landscape.

The orientation and composition of The Grove’s residences have been designed to optimise views, shading and privacy, together with intricately crafted interiors of the common areas designed byZaha Hadid Architects. Each apartment includes extensive outdoor living spaces on generous balconies for residents to enjoy dining and relaxing at home within The Grove's cooled external environment powered by the development's renewable technologies.

Defining the development's unique geometries, the façades are characterized by an interplay of vertical and horizontal 'scoops' that create a dynamic visual rhythm and have been designed to meet Global Sustainability Assessment System (GSAS) targets of less than 50% glazing.

The stepped balconies and vertical components within the façade provide separation and privacy for residents while maintaining views of the waterfront from each apartment. Developed as a modular system enabling repetition and optimization to increase efficiencies in production, the façades enhance the building’s environmental performance and provide extensive shading in response to the region’s climatic demands.

Sheikh Jabor bin Mansour bin Jabor bin Jassim Al Thani, Chairman of JMJ Group Holding, said: “The Grove embodies our commitment to crafting residences that harmonize luxury, innovation, and sustainability. This project sets a new benchmark; offering exceptional design and world-class amenities. The Grove promises to be not just a home, but a premium lifestyle investment. Partnering with SLS Hotels & Residences further enhances this experience. A name synonymous with world-class hospitality, SLS’s expertise will ensure that residents at The Grove enjoy unparalleled service that truly redefines luxury in Qatar.”

Sheikh Nasser Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Managing Director of Qetaifan Projects, said: “The Grove is a significant addition to Qetaifan Island North and a testament to what can be achieved through strategic partnerships. Our collaboration with JMJ Group Holding has resulted in a development that sets a new standard for luxury and innovation in Qatar’s real estate market. We are proud to support such a visionary project that not only enhances the appeal of Qetaifan Island but also strengthens Qatar’s position as a leader in luxury, sustainable living.”

Gianluca Racana, Director at Zaha Hadid Architects, said: "We are greatly honoured to collaborate with JMJ Properties. Located on the shoreline of Qetaifan Island North with spectacular views across the bay, The Grovewill seamlessly combine living, leisure and recreational spaces of the highest quality within the most integrated, sustainable community centred around its waterfront promenade and marina. This mixed-use development looks to future with a unique design incorporating advanced technologies that ensure the comfort and wellbeing of residents and visitors throughout the year."

Juan Ignacio Aranguren, Associate Director at Zaha Hadid Architects, said: "Innovation has always been at the heart of Zaha Hadid Architects’ approach to design. Collaborating with Qatar’s leading companies to harness the technology, sustainability, and cultural understanding that will shape the city of the future, The Grove exemplifies how architecture can be a catalyst for creating vibrant, resilient communities."

Emory Smith, Director at SEAM said, "Innovative design thinking and collaboration with ZHA and Cracknell on the identity and master planning of The Grove, has given us the opportunity to contribute and provide impact through light. We have challenged ourselves to go beyond the lighting design brief to create a legacy for JMJ Group and for Doha—a vision that unites aesthetic beauty with environmental responsibility."

Marci Song, Director at SEAM, said "Lighting, often an unspoken language in itself, serves as a powerful communication tool. We are thrilled to share our collaboration on The Grove – a seaside community and destination designed by Zaha Hadid Architects for JMJ Group and Qetaifan Projects. As a design partner to ZHA, Cracknell and Werner + Sobek, we have woven advanced lighting design and sustainable technologies into a seamless experience, ensuring comfort and wellbeing for residents and visitors alike. It’s a testament to collaborative design that balances innovation with design legacy.

Location
Chester, UK

Status
Ongoing – commenced 2016

Client
Cheshire West & Chester Council

Architect
ACME

Landscape
Vogt Landscape Architects

Access
David Bonnett Associates

As part of Chester's £300m investment into the city centre revitalisation, SEAM is providing lighting design services for ACME's ambitious vision for a vibrant retail-led mixed-use development. Planning was awarded in September 2016. Working together with multiple architects and separate design teams, SEAM has provided lighting design services that work to create cohesiveness across the site while featuring the unique characteristics of the various architectural designs. The first phase of works comprises a new cinema and theatre district.

Images
ACME

Location
Cairo, Egypt

Date
2009–ongoing

Client
Rooya Group

Architect
Zaha Hadid Architects

Landscape
GROSS MAX

Wayfinding
SpaceAgency

SEAM’s unique lighting design solutions support the signature architectural identity of this expansive masterplanned mixed-use development in Cairo. Comprising 18 corporate towers, a luxury hotel, two levels of underground car parking, and a landscaped public realm with five retail clusters, the extensive 21-hectare site is set to become a regional economic and cultural hub.

SEAM has designed the lighting for all public areas, including the feature facades and atria of all towers, plus facade lighting for the five-star hotel. The intricate centralised landscape ‘The Delta’ additionally provides the opportunity to integrate lighting into landscape design and develop intuitive wayfinding strategies with the use of lighting and bespoke signage.

The lighting strategy for Stone Towers starts at the urban scale – understanding the multiple identities of a large mixed-use development, its varying perceptions on approach, and the complex movements – and proceeds through a hierarchy of architectural spatial systems that encompass the entirety of the site. While achieving aesthetic fluidity, SEAM’s lighting carefully considers the complex dynamics of the various participants through the site, supporting these dynamic relationships functionally through light.

"Inspired by the patterns and textures of ancient Egyptian stonework, the north and south facades of each tower will be covered with recesses and protrusions emphasising the effects of light and shadow on the surfaces." - Dezeen

Images
Zaha Hadid Architects
SEAM Design

Location
London, UK

Status
RIBA Stage 1 complete – 2017

Client
City of London Corporation

Partners
Barbican Centre
Guildhall School of Music and Drama
London Symphony Orchestra
Museum of London

Architect
Fluid Architecture

Community engagement
Soundings

This 45-hectare site spans nearly a mile between London’s Moorgate and Farringdon metro stations, encompassing the brutalist Barbican estate and industrial Smithfield market area. This City of London enclave features a vibrant mix of ancient and modern architecture, with Roman walls and medieval churches sitting amidst new railway infrastructure, office towers and apartment blocks. However a fragmented multi-level public realm creates complex navigation and disparate pedestrian experience.

The Culture Mile initiative aspires to unify this diverse district into a singular cultural destination, introducing a cohesive pedestrian environment activated with arts programming. The comprehensive development strategy includes architectural lighting design expertise by SEAM to bring the urban realm to life at night.

An urban lighting audit by SEAM led to proposals for key enhancements to circulation and placemaking. Illumination to vertical connections draws activation to the Barbican’s podium levels, while prominent concrete surfaces host timely digital projections to signal events programmes from the world-leading cultural institutions clustered here.

Proposals for strategic facade lighting reveal the architectural beauty of the historic Smithfield Market at night, transforming its presence from an industrial worksite to a key district landmark. From brutalist concrete streetscapes and Victorian listed buildings, the unique textures and details of the rich local architectural palette are highlighted to offer orientation and navigation. The goal is a clear strategy for strong civic identity and local character to emerge.

The study identifies realistic and affordable ways to make the area more accessible and enjoyable for its workers, residents and visitors, while raising local business revenue, and elevating the City of London’s global profile as a destination for culture.

Images
SEAM Design