Herzog & de Meuron unveil sculptural concrete museum in Qatar
Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron have unveiled new images of Qatar Museums’ Lusail Museum, showing a “robust”, drum-shaped gallery and museum.
Located on Al Maha Island near Doha, Lusail Museum has been designed to reference historic Islamic architecture throughout its interior, and aims to become a cultural destination for education, exhibitions, and research.
The proposed, five-storey building’s form is derived from three spheres that intersect and overlap to distinguish the museum’s internal volumes.
Echoing its coastal surrounds, the building's exterior will be “rough” and sand-like, with striated concrete in earthy tones that are intended to help the building blend into the landscape.
Recessed windows and entry points around the museum, created using a series of “deep cuts and geometric punctures”, while a series of skylights will be “scattered” across the building's roofscape.
According to Herzog & de Meuron, Lusail Museum was designed to ensure visitors have a visual connection to the sea, while also protecting its Orientalist art from excessive natural light.
A crescent-shaped, skylit boulevard will curve between the building's looping volumes and act as a connection between the entrance, central lobby and gallery programs.
Anchoring the Orientalist art exhibition spaces on the structure's upper levels, four gallery rooms will replicate interior details abstracted from significant Islamic buildings, including the dome over Sultan Murad III’s bedroom in Istanbul's Palace of Topkapi and the Aljafaria Palace dome in Zaragoza, Spain.
While the building will primarily be shaped from rough and expressed concrete, Herzog & de Meuron’s design includes “zones of material contrast” to designate key moments in the design.
For example, a spiral staircase leading to exhibition spaces will be sculpted from polished plaster, while the prayer room will be clad in reflective metal. Tactile wood, textiles, ceramic tiles, upholstered niches, and metal accents will also intersperse throughout the complex.
Construction for Lusail Museum is expected to commence later in 2024, with a projected completion date of 2029.
In addition to the museum, the building will also contain a library, auditorium, cafe, prayer space and rooftop terrace, and an open-air cinema.
All images: Qatar Museums / Herzog & de Meuron
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