On 10th November 2022, just ten days before the start of the 22nd FIFA World Cup in Qatar, Phase A of the expansion of Hamad International Airport was inaugurated with a grand ceremony in the presence of the Qatari authorities and the specialised press. In addition to the opening of an art gallery with world-class works of art and a shopping area with more than 90 shops of the world’s leading fashion, jewellery, food and other brands, the expansion had an exceptional protagonist: The Orchard.
The Orchard is the name given to the 6,000 m2 indoor tropical garden that occupies the centre of the shopping area of the Qatar airport expansion. It is a lushly landscaped garden space for the 58 million passengers who pass through the airport each year. In The Orchard they will find a reason to relax, take a leisurely stroll or rest. 575 m2 of “moving water” adds a refreshing ambience to the virtues of the landscaping design and the company of nature that The Orchard offers travellers.
The Orchard is home to more than 300 trees and 25,000 plants and shrubs of 120 different species, carefully selected and brought to Hamad International Airport from sustainable forests in Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and other parts of the world. All the plant species in this indoor tropical forest live under the shelter of a column-free canopy of high-performance glass, specially constructed to filter and control light to ensure their survival and well-being. Finally, a high-resolution screen, with more than 169 million pixels and 1.2 km in length, runs around the perimeter of The Orchard.
Travellers passing through Hamad International Airport will undoubtedly find time to lose themselves in the walkways and nooks and crannies of The Orchard. In this tropical garden you will be transported by the sense of peace and tranquillity that comes from the tender embrace of Mother Nature.
Sources: The Peninsula Qatar, Travel and Leisure, The Moodie Davitt Report. Images: The Moodie Davitt Report y Travel+Leisure.
