FEATURE
Meet Ibrahim M. Jaidah, The Architect of Identity at Rosewood Doha
At the heart of Rosewood Doha stands Ibrahim M. Jaidah, the celebrated architect whose work doesn’t just honour Qatar’s past but redefines its future through form and scale.
There are architects who build for cities, and then there are those who build for legacy. Rosewood Doha architect Ibrahim M. Jaidah manages to do both. Revered across Qatar and beyond, Jaidah is not only one of the most celebrated architects in the region, but also a cultural custodian.
When Rosewood Doha commissioned Jaidah to lead the architectural vision for its striking new hotel and residences, it wasn’t simply engaging an architect. It was embracing a storyteller. A guardian of heritage. A man who looks to the sand and sky and sees beyond the landscape, to memory.
“I see a language built from wind, shadow, silence,” says Jaidah. “This land doesn’t just exist, it teaches.”
Appointed by Rosewood global office to produce a suite of motion and stills collateral for Rosewood Doha, Jagat had the opportunity to spend an afternoon with this esteemed visionary, and honestly time spent with the one who has helped shape the architectural identity of modern Qatar was nothing short of extraordinary. To observe Jaidah at Rosewood Doha, immersed in his own creation, was to witness legacy in motion.
Born in Doha and educated in the United States, Jaidah’s architecture rises from the land itself, informed by coral, desert, breeze, and belief. His buildings are not cut-and-paste blueprints; they are love letters to place. And that rationale is indeed represented within Rosewood Doha.
Inspired by the coral reefs that shape Qatar’s coastline, the facade of Rosewood Doha is an ode to the geometry of the natural world, reimagined in glass and steel. But what makes Jaidah’s work sing is not simply aesthetic. It’s intention. His sense of cultural authorship has earned him both reverence and responsibility. As Group CEO and Chief Architect of Arab Engineering Bureau (AEB), the country’s oldest architectural and engineering firm, Jaidah has shaped everything from museums to ministries. His portfolio includes the Ministry of Interior Headquarters and the Qatar Foundation Headquarters, each as distinct as the cultural context that birthed it.
Our rare encounter now lives on through a series of visual works for Rosewood Doha: an intimate short film honouring the architect himself, and a broader cinematic brand film of Rosewood Doha, capturing the elegance, ambition, and cultural soul of this architectural landmark.
Now that’s how you build a future, that doesn’t forget where it came from.
