Designed by John McAslan + Partners, the M7 Cultural Forum is the architectural backbone of the 31-hectare Msheireb mixed-use development, which is transforming the way people live and use the Qatari capital. The new centre, recently named M7, serves as a creative hub for Qatar's fashion and design industry, as well as a public showcase for innovation and entrepreneurship in the region.

Doha's Msheireb district consists of compact urban blocks, including museums, mosques, shopping malls, homes and offices, along shady streets, and is designed to be a "walkable city" with trams and subways. M7 is located in the center of Msheireb. The city's architecture is serene and rustic, with solid, clustered and interlocking volumes echoing elements of traditional Qatari architecture. The design competes with the large-scale international urban renovation common in the UAE and gulf states, showing Qatar reaching out to other places and diverse cultures while exploring its own heritage.

The architects tried to design a building that exudes a sense of shared discovery. Inspired by traditional Qatari quadrangle houses, the architectural quality and interior ambience are conceived as a giant stone block, with Spaces and courtyards carved into it. Public Spaces flow into the building, a multi-layered event and space celebrating design, fashion, music, film and contemporary art. At its heart is a spacious atrium surrounded by a grand parade staircase, topped by a skylight whose Islamic-patterned screens scatter sunlight into the building.

Conceived as a diverse mix of cultural and educational functions, the M7 is layered around a central courtyard, allowing interdisciplinary creativity to flourish and providing a vibrant and vibrant hub for fashion, design and technology in Qatar and the region.