Jean Nouvel’s MPIM award winning design takes shape

The National Museum of Qatar will soon be complete, as recent photographs released by Dutch photographer Iwan Baar reveal. The pictures show both aerial and close courtyard views of the distinctive 53,000 sqm building, which recently won the MPIM Award for Best Future Project. With construction expected to finish in December 2018, the museum will contain a 220-seat auditorium, 70-seat forum, restaurant, two cafes, shop and facilities for the storage and conservation of its collection. Project manager and ASTAD Chief Executive Officer, Engineer Ali Al-Khalifa, stated: "I have no doubt that the National Museum of Qatar will be one of the Middle East's most iconic landmarks." 

The construction site is situated next to the 19th century palace of the former Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani. This historic building was restored in 2014 by Berlin architecture firm Ziegert Roswag Seiler Architekten Ingenieure, and will be incorporated into the museum as a central exhibit. 

Designed by Jean Nouvel, the concept for the new museum was inspired by the nomadic lifestyle of the people who originally settled in the area, a theme arising from the museum’s intended purpose in telling the tale of a culture and a capital city growing from small beginnings. The architect hopes the museum will become emblematic of this story, with contemporary techniques shaping steel, glass and concrete materials to create a structure bringing to mind a modern caravan train. When describing his design, Jean Nouvel commented, "Everything in this museum works to make the visitor feel the desert and the sea. The museum’s architecture and structure symbolize the mysteries of the desert’s concretions and crystallizations, suggesting the interlocking pattern of the bladelike petals of the desert rose."

Lucy Nordberg

TenderStream Head of Research

Explore the TenderStream Archive here

Start your free trial here or email our team directly at customerservices@tenderstream.com