SNEAK PEEK AT QATAR NATIONAL MUSEUM CONSTRUCTION PROJECT AERIAL IMAGES – Qatar Museums Authority and Jean Nouvel (Pritzker Price-winning architect) unveiled plans for the new National Museum of Qatar. The cultural center is inspired by the Desert Rose Crystal and lives of the Bedouin culture as well as a deep-seated respect for the hot desert climate.
From above, the arrangement of the 430,000 square foot museum suggests a caravanserai, which is a traditional enclosed marketplace that supported commerce between nomadic tribes moving across the desert. Nouvel’s design is made up of a series of interlocking disks with cavities inside buffered from the hot desert sun.
The entire complex will seek LEED Silver certification, relying mostly on traditional building practices to create shady and cool areas with thermal buffer zones. The interlocking disks of the building will provide deep overhangs for outdoor promenades and minimize the transmission of heat into the interior spaces.
