Museum & Mixed-Use
Doha, Qatar;
2015
Size
100000 m2
Collaboration
Eduardo Souto de Moura; Menos é Mais (Guedes + DeCampos)
Status
Competition Shortlist;
Idea;
A mixture of nostalgia and anticipation
Our proposal explores the ability of architecture and urban planning to spread a cultural event, so the transformation leads to optimism and a contrasting pleasure between the Doha bay, the museum, the city and the public experiencing the place.
Taking advantage of the excellent location, the new museum becomes an urban landmark. The building takes off from the ground in an unexpected suspension and rests on a platform that creates great openness and flexibility of the public space, allowing a connection between the macro scale and the local boundary lines.
The suspended mass generates a “new monumentality” on the waterfront and relates to the scales of the AL Riwaq Doha Museum of Modern Art.
This spatial arrangement arises from the observation of the pre-existence and the sense of place, marked by juxtaposition: volumes, interior and exterior spaces, elevation plans, span, empty and full.
The Qatar Flour Mills are “reinvented” by the new programme, gaining axiality within a local and territorial development framework: the former site will be transformed into an animated, cultural destination in the social and historic heart of Qatar’s capital city, becoming one of the largest and most ambitious institutions in the world.
