The National Museum of Qatar by Jean Nouvel, Constructing a New Identity
28/03/2019.
[Doha] Qatar
metalocus, ADRIÁN MARTÍNEZ
metalocus, ADRIÁN MARTÍNEZ
The National Museum of Qatar (NMoQ) opened yesterday and is opening to the public today, is with its more than 8,000 square meters of exhibition the largest museum of local history on the planet.
A masterpiece by Jean Nouvel. Its enveloping, volume and structure, on the other hand, has international ambition, and tries advance the nation’s cultural vision on the global stage.
A masterpiece by Jean Nouvel. Its enveloping, volume and structure, on the other hand, has international ambition, and tries advance the nation’s cultural vision on the global stage.
National Museum of Qatar by Jean Nouvel. Photograph by Iwan Baan
National Museum of Qatar by Jean Nouvel. Photograph by Martin Argyroglo
National Museum of Qatar by Jean Nouvel. Photograph by Iwan Baan
National Museum of Qatar by Jean Nouvel. Photograph by Iwan Baan
National Museum of Qatar by Jean Nouvel. Photograph by Iwan Baan
National Museum of Qatar by Jean Nouvel. Photograph by Iwan Baan
National Museum of Qatar by Jean Nouvel. Photograph by Iwan Baan
National Museum of Qatar by Jean Nouvel. Photograph by Iwan Baan
National Museum of Qatar by Jean Nouvel. Photograph by Thomas Taylor
National Museum of Qatar by Jean Nouvel. Photograph by Iwan Baan
National Museum of Qatar by Jean Nouvel. Photograph by Iwan Baan
National Museum of Qatar by Jean Nouvel. Photograph by Iwan Baan
National Museum of Qatar by Jean Nouvel. Photograph by Martin Argyroglo
National Museum of Qatar by Jean Nouvel. Photograph by Iwan Baan
National Museum of Qatar by Jean Nouvel. Photograph by Iwan Baan
National Museum of Qatar by Jean Nouvel. Photograph by Iwan Baan
National Museum of Qatar by Jean Nouvel. Photograph by Iwan Baan
National Museum of Qatar by Jean Nouvel. Photograph by Iwan Baan
National Museum of Qatar by Jean Nouvel. Photograph by Iwan Baan
National Museum of Qatar by Jean Nouvel. Photograph by Iwan Baan
National Museum of Qatar by Jean Nouvel. Photograph by Iwan Baan
National Museum of Qatar by Jean Nouvel. Photograph by Iwan Baan
National Museum of Qatar by Jean Nouvel. Photograph by Iwan Baan
National Museum of Qatar by Jean Nouvel. Photograph by Iwan Baan
National Museum of Qatar by Jean Nouvel. Photograph by Iwan Baan
National Museum of Qatar by Jean Nouvel. Photograph by Iwan Baan
Site plan. National Museum of Qatar by Jean Nouvel.
Ground floor plan. National Museum of Qatar by Jean Nouvel.
Basement floor plan. National Museum of Qatar by Jean Nouvel.
First floor plan. National Museum of Qatar by Jean Nouvel.
Second floor plan. National Museum of Qatar by Jean Nouvel.
Third floor plan. National Museum of Qatar by Jean Nouvel.
Fourth floor plan. National Museum of Qatar by Jean Nouvel.
Roof floor plan. National Museum of Qatar by Jean Nouvel.
Lobby to Old Palace Section. National Museum of Qatar by Jean Nouvel.
Longitudinal Section. National Museum of Qatar by Jean Nouvel.
Section. National Museum of Qatar by Jean Nouvel.
Section. National Museum of Qatar by Jean Nouvel.
Diagram. National Museum of Qatar by Jean Nouvel.
Diagram. National Museum of Qatar by Jean Nouvel.
Scheme. National Museum of Qatar by Jean Nouvel.
National Museum of Qatar by Jean Nouvel. Photograph by Iwan Baan
The building designed by Jean Nouvel evokes the crystallization of a desert rose (a mineral formation typical of the Persian Gulf region). The shape is highly scenographic and wants to root a nomadic culture of pearl fishermen turned into lords of the energies of the twentieth century, oil and natural gas. Jean Nouvel's project is, in the words of the architect, the materialization of what Qatar is: "a place of encounter between the sea and the desert".
The program of its eleven galleries take visitors from the formation of the Qatar peninsula millions of years ago to the nation’s present. The winding gallery offers a journey through a series of unique, encompassing environments including architectural space, music, poetry, archaeological objects, commissioned artworks, monumentally-scaled art films, and more.
The capital of Qatar is in the process of transformation, just pay attention to its new architecture as the National Library of Rem Koolhaas or its public sculpture (the controversial fetish sculptures of Damien Hirst) to verify that after their past of pearl seekers and gentlemen of fossil energies, they are already investing in their reconversion as a tourist destination. In case the art is not enough, the soccer world cup 2022 will be played here for the first time in winter and in an Arab country, with stadiums signed by Norman Foster, or the missing Zaha Hadid.
The program of its eleven galleries take visitors from the formation of the Qatar peninsula millions of years ago to the nation’s present. The winding gallery offers a journey through a series of unique, encompassing environments including architectural space, music, poetry, archaeological objects, commissioned artworks, monumentally-scaled art films, and more.
The capital of Qatar is in the process of transformation, just pay attention to its new architecture as the National Library of Rem Koolhaas or its public sculpture (the controversial fetish sculptures of Damien Hirst) to verify that after their past of pearl seekers and gentlemen of fossil energies, they are already investing in their reconversion as a tourist destination. In case the art is not enough, the soccer world cup 2022 will be played here for the first time in winter and in an Arab country, with stadiums signed by Norman Foster, or the missing Zaha Hadid.
Description of project by Jean Nouvel Atelier
Qatar is a young nation in the Persian Gulf, a peninsula, a tongue surrounded by water where the desert reaches into the sea.
The Qatari descend from a nomadic Arabian people who settled in this maritime desert.
Some became fishermen, others hunted for pearls. Some looked to the nation’s hidden treasures, the resources that lay beneath the sand or under the sea. Others, inspired by their country’s central location in the Gulf, began to talk, to communicate, to reach out. The impulse for this metamorphosis came from Doha. A glance at photographs of Doha in the 1950s and 1960s, compared with today, is sufficient to understand how much this part of the world has changed. From a little village, it has become a capital. What could be more natural, then, than the desire to testify, to talk about identification, about the evolving identity of this country as it reveals itself on the sensitive paper of history? And what could be more logical than to give concrete expression to this identification process in a National Museum of Qatar that will relate the physical, human and economic geography of the country, together with its history?
One place was symbolically destined to fulfill this role: the cradle of the Al Thani family in Doha; a modest, noble, simple palace from where this twentieth-century adventure began. It stands at the city’s southern entrance, the busiest urban gateway as it also welcomes visitors arriving from the airport.
The architectural study which initially was coupled with the programmatic study, brought to light the underlying paradox of this project: to show what is hidden, to reveal a fading image, to anchor the ephemeral, to put the unspoken into words, to reveal a history which has not had the time to leave a mental imprint; a history that is a present in flight, an energy in action. The National Museum of Qatar is proof patent of how intense this energy is. Of course it will be home to the traditional geological and archaeological artifacts; of course tents, saddles and the dishes will bear witness to nomadic life; of course there will be fishermen’s utensils, boats and nets. Most importantly, though, it will spark an awareness that could only otherwise be encountered, experienced, after months spent in the desert, in pursuit of the particularities that elude our grasp except when the whims of Time and Nature allow. Or by taking an helicopter or 4WD to discover the contrasts and stretches of beach of the Qatari peninsula. 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.
A nomadic people builds its capital city and talks about it through this emblematic monument built with the most contemporary construction tools (steel, glass and fiber concrete), and will communicate through high-definition cinema, incorporating visitors’ movements into its museography : this museum is a modern-day caravanserai. From there you leave for the desert and you return from it bringing back treasures: images that remain forever engraved on your memory.
More information
Architects
Advisor to Jean Nouvel
Stéphane MARTIN
Management
Hafid RAKEM (Area Manager), Éric MARIA (General Manager), Brian WAIT (Project Delivery Manager – Studies).
Project leader
Studies and Construction.- Philippe CHARPIOT, Nikola RADOVANOVIC (Lead Architects), Daniela FORTUNA (QAQC Manager – Design and construction stages), Toshihiro KUBOTA, Éric STEPHANY (Concept Design).
Project Team
Construction Site.- Claire BUFFLIER, Daniela FORTUNA, Georges GROPPAS, Maximilien MONTANARO, Valle PINERO.
Working Drawings & Tender Documents.- Ghita BERRADIA, Claire BUFFLIER, Michel CALZADA, Bernard DUPRAT, Daniela FORTUNA, Georges GROPPAS, Narjis LEMRINI, Aroa LUJAN, Maximilien MONTANARO, Jose MONTEIRO, Marian MORAVEK, Samuel NAGEOTTE, Juliana PARK, Edouard PERVES, Paul PIRES DA FONTE, Matthieu PUYAUBREAU, Magdalena SARTORI, Anna VOELLER.
Schematic Design & Design Development.- Marilena CADAU, Adrien CHAUVEAU, Victoria D’ALISA, Yaêlle DEVAUX, Daniela FORTUNA, Hakan ALDOGAN, Maja KWASNIEWSKA, Maximilien MONTANARO, Benoit PAILLOUX.
Concept Design.- Pablo ALVARENGA, Valentin BERNARD, Victoria D’ALISA, Yann HECKLER, Benoit PAILLOUX, Ana TABORDA, Kiyomi SUZUKI, Laura COLLINS, Khadija DJELLOULI, Miguel REYES, Anthony THEVENON.
3D & BIM Architects
Working Drawings & Tender Documents.- Edmondo OCCHIPINTI & Susan CONSTANTINE (Gehry Technology), Yann HECKLER, Narjis LEMRINI, Samuel NAGEOTTE, Edouard PERVES.
Schematic Design & Design Development.- Yann HECKLER.
Concept Design.- Toshihiro KUBOTA, Yann HECKLER, Narjis LEMRINI, Aurelien COULANGES.
Museography
Studies and Construction.-
Museographer.- Renaud PIERARD (Renaud Pierard Studio).
Lead Interior Designer.- Sabrina LETOURNEUR.
Project Manager.- Philippe CHARPIOT.
Lead Architect.- Kirsi MARJAMAKI-MAS, Julie PARMENTIER.
Architects.- Giulia FELICE, Lucia GIUDICE, François-Xavier FOILLARD, Alvaro LOPEZ, Geraldine LEYDIER, Valle PINERO, Francisco SILVA, Valle PINERO.
Interior Designer.- Floriane ABELLO, Jennifer KANDEL, Sophie LAROMIGUIERE, Tanguy NGUYEN, Daniele PASIN, Anita PEBOECK, Jim RHONE, Antoine WENDLING.
Art Film Consultant.- Pierre EDELMAN.
Interior Design
Lead Interior Designer.- Sabrina LETOURNEUR.
Assistant Interior Designer.- Floriane ABELLO, Sophie LAROMIGUIERE, Daniele PASIN.
LANDSCAPE.- Michel DESVIGNE, Ana MARTI-BARON (Lead Landscape Architect).
COMPUTER GENERATED IMAGES.- Éric ANTON (ARTEFACTORY), Keely COLCLEUGH, Mizuho KISHI, Yann HECKLER, Sébastien RAGEUL.
GRAPHIC DESIGN.- Marie MAILLARD, Eugénie ROBERT.
Cost Consultant
MDA Consulting & Northcroft
Engineers
ARUP London
Consultants
Renaud PIERARD (Museography), dUCKS scéno – Michel COVA (Scenography), BCS & INGPHI (Facades), Scherler (Interior lighting), AIK (Exterior lighting), AVEL Acoustique (Acoustics), Pentagram-London (Signage), Atlas (Specifications), Aecom (Landscape engineering), Gehry Technology (BIM management), Licht-Kunst-Licht (Museographic lighting), dUCKS scéno – Labeyrie & associés, Immersive (Museographic multimedia), Art+Com, Opera Amsterdam (Particular exhibition), Scherler SA (Landscape electricity), B+S SA (Landscape civil engineer), Pierre EDELMAN (Film consultant), QDC (Architect of record), AECOM & PARSONS (Roads design), Mohammed Ali ABDULLA (Heritage consultant), L’Observatoire International – Hervé DESCOTTES (Lighting Design.- Exterior, Landscape, Exterior Artworks).
Client
Qatar Museums (QM)
Area
30,000 m² / 40,000 m²
Programme
Permanent exhibition galleries, temporary exhibition gallery, auditorium (220-seats), forum (70-seats), two cafés, restaurant, boutique, Research Center, conservation laboratories, collection storages, office, public park
Habitable area / Surface area.
Photography
JEAN NOUVEL
Jean Nouvel, (born August 12, 1945) is a French architect. Nouvel studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and was a founding member of Mars 1976 and Syndicat de l'Architecture. He has obtained a number of prestigious distinctions over the course of his career, including the Aga Khan Award for Architecture (technically, the prize was awarded for the Institut du Monde Arabe which Nouvel designed), the Wolf Prize in Arts in 2005 and the Pritzker Prize in 2008.
Nouvel was awarded the Pritzker Prize, architecture's highest honour, in 2008, for his work on more than 200 projects, among them, in the words of The New York Times, the "exotically louvered" Arab World Institute, the bullet-shaped and "candy-colored" Torre Agbar in Barcelona, the "muscular" Guthrie Theater with its cantilevered bridge in Minneapolis, and in Paris, the "defiant, mysterious and wildly eccentric" Musée du quai Branly (2006) and the Philharmonie de Paris (a "trip into the unknown" c. 2012).
Pritzker points to several more major works: in Europe, the Cartier Foundation for Contemporary Art (1994), the Culture and Convention Center in Lucerne (2000), the Opéra Nouvel in Lyon (1993) , Expo 2002 in Switzerland and, under construction, the Copenhagen Concert Hall and the courthouse in Nantes (2000); as well as two tall towers in planning in North America, Tour Verre in New York City and a cancelled condominium tower in Los Angeles. International cultural projects such as the Abu Dhabi Louvre, the Philharmonic Hall in Paris, the Qatar National Museum in Doha, or the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2010 in London.
In its citation, the jury of the Pritzker prize noted:
Of the many phrases that might be used to describe the career of architect Jean Nouvel, foremost are those that emphasize his courageous pursuit of new ideas and his challenge of accepted norms in order to stretch the boundaries of the field. [...] The jury acknowledged the ‘persistence, imagination, exuberance, and, above all, an insatiable urge for creative experimentation’ as qualities abundant in Nouvel’s work.
Among his principal completed projects, we find the Arab World Institute in Paris, the Cartier Foundation and the Quai Branly museum in Paris, the Culture and Congress Center KKL in Lucerne, the extension of the Queen Sofia Arts Center in Madrid, the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, the Philharmonic of Paris…
Among the projects currently under studies or under construction: the “53W53, Tour de Verre” integrating the extension of the MoMA galleries in New York, the residential towers “Le Nouvel” in Kuala Lumpur, “Anderson 18” and “Ardmore” in Singapore and “Rosewood” in São Paulo, the office towers “Hekla” and “Duo” in Paris, the cultural complex “The Artists’ Garden” in Qingdao or the National Art Museum of China NAMOC in Beijing… The design of the Louvre Abu Dhabi began in 2006 with Jean Nouvel’s Partner Architect Hala Wardé.
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