The unique complex, conceived by Pritzker-winning architect Jean Nouvel, comprises a series of interlocking discs with pinkish-beige surfaces echoing the subtle blend of colours, grains, and patterns that give the desert sands their richness.
A bridge between past and present
The modern building grows organically around the original royal Palace built in the 1920s, preserving a central monument to Qatar’s past at the heart of the new museum, and creating a bridge between past and present.
The building is designed to achieve a USGBC LEED Silver rating with thermal buffer zones to reduce cooling loads, deep overhangs to protect the interior from light and heat, and create cool, shady areas for outdoor promenades, and highly energy-efficient lighting and controls.
Total flexibility, versatility and sustainability
A state-of-the-art Delmatic lighting management system controls and monitors lighting throughout the complex as well as external and landscape lighting. The lighting installation uses latest DALI technology and the Delmatic system individually addresses every light within the museum and gallery spaces to achieve total flexibility and versatility of control. A plug-in DALI approach was selected to avoid the need to address drivers on site and to simplify maintenance within the public spaces.