معماری مدرن

“The desert sun plays a fundamental role, transforming the architecture into a play of light and shadows.”
I.M.Pei

Photo courtesy the Museum of Islamic Art

The Museum of Islamic Art is located on the south side of Doha’s Corniche on a man-made island sixty meters from the shore. A new C-shaped peninsula provides protection from the Persion Gulf on the north and from unsightly industrial buildings on the east. A park of dunes and oases on the shoreline behind the Museum offers shelter and a picturesque backdrop.

The museum is connected to the shore by two pedestrian bridges and a vehicular bridge. Two 100 feet tall lanterns mark the boat dock on the west side of the Museum, creating a grand entrance for guests arriving by boat.

Photo courtesy the Museum of Islamic Art

Photo courtesy the Museum of Islamic Art

Photo courtesy the Museum of Islamic Art

The Museum is the result of a journey of discovery conducted by I.M. Pei, whose quest to understand the diversity of Islamic architecture led him on a world tour.

“This was one of the most difficult jobs I ever undertook. If one could find the essence of Islamic architecture, might it not lie in the desert, severe and simple in its design, where sunlight brings forms to life?
I believe I found what I was looking for in the Mosque of Ahmad Ibn Tulun in Cairo (876-879). The small ablutions fountain surrounded by double arcades on three sides, a slightly later addition to the architecture, is an almost Cubist expression of geometric progression from the octagon to the square and the square to the circle. This severe architecture comes to life in the sun, with its shadows and shades of color.”
I.M. Pei

The Museum is composed of two cream colored limestone buildings, a five-story main building and a two-story Education Wing, connected across a central courtyard.

The main building’s angular volumes step back as they rise around a 5-story high domed atrium, concealed from outside view by the walls of a central tower. An oculus, at the top of the atrium, captures and reflects patterned light within the faceted dome.

Photo courtesy the Museum of Islamic Art

Photo courtesy the Museum of Islamic Art

A geometric matrix transforms the dome’s descent from circle to octagon, to square, and finally to four triangular flaps, which angle back at different heights to become the atrium’s columns.

Photo courtesy the Museum of Islamic Art

Photo courtesy the Museum of Islamic Art

Photo courtesy the Museum of Islamic Art

Photo courtesy the Museum of Islamic Art

On the north side of the Museum a 45 meter tall glass curtain wall, the only major window, offers panoramic views of the Gulf and West Bay area of Doha from all five floors of the atrium.

Photo courtesy the Museum of Islamic Art

Photo courtesy the Museum of Islamic Art

The treasures from the permanent collection are exhibited on two floors of galleries that encircle the atrium. The galleries feature dark grey porphyry stone and Louro Faya, a Brazilian lacewood that was brushed and treated to create a metallic appearance, which contrast with the light-colored stonework of the rest of the Museum. To protect the fragile antiquities on display, the exhibition rooms feature specially designed cases and lighting.

Photo courtesy the Museum of Islamic Art

Photo courtesy the Museum of Islamic Art

Photo courtesy the Museum of Islamic Art

Photo courtesy the Museum of Islamic Art

Dedicated to reflecting the full vitality, complexity and diversity of the arts of the Islamic world, the Museum of Islamic Art will collect, preserve, study and exhibit masterpieces spanning three continents from the 7th to the 19th century.

The Museum’s education programs are housed in a wing to the east of the main building across a fountain courtyard. The Education Wing includes a light-filled reading room in the Museum library, classrooms, workshops, study spaces, and technical and storage facilities.

Photo courtesy the Museum of Islamic Art

Photo courtesy the Museum of Islamic Art

“I remained faithful to the inspiration I had found in the Mosque of Ibn Tulun, derived from its austerity and simplicity. It was this essence that I attempted to bring forth in the desert sun of Doha".
I.M.Pei

Drawing courtesy I.M. Pei Architect
Site Plan

Drawing courtesy I.M. Pei Architect
Entrance Level Plan

Drawing courtesy I.M. Pei Architect
Second Floor Plan

Drawing courtesy I.M. Pei Architect
Third Floor Plan

Drawing courtesy I.M. Pei Architect
Fourth Floor Plan

Drawing courtesy I.M. Pei Architect
Fifth Floor Plan

Drawing courtesy I.M. Pei Architect
West East Section

Drawing courtesy I.M. Pei Architect
North South Section

Total area: 382,118 square feet
Completed: 2008

Client: Museum of Islamic Art
Architect: I. M. Pei Architect
Project Manager: Perry Y. Chin
Design: Hiroshi Okamoto
Site Representative: TohTsun Lim
Lead Design: Fatma Aslihan Demirtas,
Job Captain: Deborah Ann Campbell
Design/Technical Design:
Haruko Fukui
Rayme Kuniyuki
Stephen A. Hopkins,
Aki Ishida
Chris Rand
Yi Chi Su
Andy Mei
Technical Advisor: Michael Visscihelli

Gallery Design: Jean-Michel Wilmotte (Paris)
Project Manager: Emmanuel Brelot
Job Captain: Fabian Servagnat
Design: Xavier Turk,
Designers:
Barbara Clout
Abir Fawaz
Hoon Moreau,
Emilie Oliverio
Jean-Luc Perrin
Michael Placidi
Moochul Shin

Structural Engineer: Leslie E. Robertson Associates
Mechanical Engineer: Jaros Baum & Bolles
Lighting Designer: Fisher Marantz Stone
Local Associate: Qatar Engineer & Associates
Acoustics: Xu Acoustique
AudioVisual: Shen Milsom Wilke
Marine Engineering: COWI A/S

Book
Museum of Islamic Art
By Philip Jodidio
Publisher: Prestel