Doha, Qatar,
1997, Unbuilt

This Museum of Islamic Art was the winning entry, in a competition involving eight international architects and a jury of Ricardo Legoretta, Fumihiko Maki, Luis Monreal among others

The design is generated by two basic themes: the wall and the courtyard.. This polished red granite wall, mirroring the sea and the sky along the Corniche, modulates in thickness and height along its length. The resulting curve serve both form and function, accommodating various service spaces used by the galleries such as cargo elevators and access to storage facilities. The galleries are flexible, and the pathways offer several alternative routes for visitors to view the exhibition areas in a variety of sequences, all structured by the centrality of the sunken courtyard with the inlaid char bagh.

The wall, climaxing in a recall of the original astronomical instruments developed by Ulugh Bey in Central Asia, pays tribute to the achievements of Islam in science and astronomy, and serves as a platform for visitors to view in the city of Doha.