Qatar National Convention Centre (QNCC)

Qatar National Convention Centre (QNCC) stands on Al Luqta Street in Education City, in Al Rayyan Municipality on the western edge of Doha, inside the Qatar Foundation's 2,500-acre campus. It opened on 4 December 2011 and is owned by the Qatar Foundation. Its significance is twofold: it is one of the region's largest convention venues, with 200,000 sqm of venue area, and it was the first facility of its kind built to the gold certification standard of the US Green Building Council's LEED rating, running about 32 percent more efficiently than a comparable conventional building, with 3,500 sqm of solar panels meeting 12.5 percent of its energy needs and LED lighting throughout the halls. It contains 40,000 sqm of exhibition space across nine halls, a 4,000-seat conference hall in theatre format, the 2,300-seat Al Mayassa Theatre, three auditoria and 52 flexible meeting rooms, and can seat 10,000 for a conference or banquet. Arata Isozaki designed it with RHWL Architects; the giant tree-like columns at the front represent the Sidrat al-Muntaha, the sacred tree of Islamic tradition, and the steel roof and glazed foyer are carried on that structure. QNCC has hosted the 2012 UN climate change conference, WISE and DIMDEX, and concerts by Ed Sheeran and The Script. It is served by the Doha Metro Green Line at Qatar National Library station, where Gate 2 leads onto a walkway to the entrances, and by the Education City tram at QNCC station.