Inspiration - Museum of Islamic Art, Doha by I. M. Pei

 I. M. Pei

Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect I.M. Pei, the 376,740-square-foot Museum of Islamic Art in Doha Bay houses a collection of international masterpieces in galleries encircling a soaring, five-storey-high domed atrium. The Museum, an architectural icon 60m (195ft) off Doha’s Corniche, rises from the sea and is connected to shore by two pedestrian bridges and a vehicular bridge. A C-shaped peninsula and park area on the shoreline behind the Museum offer shelter and a picturesque backdrop.
The Museum is composed of a five-storey Main Building and a two-storey Education Wing, which are connected across a central courtyard. The Main Building’s angular volumes step back progressively as they rise around a 50-m-high (164ft) central domed atrium. The dome is concealed from outside view by the walls of a central tower. A sheet of glass rises to a height of 45m (148ft) on the north side of the Museum offering views of the Gulf and West Bay area of Doha from all five floors of the atrium. Ceilings are constructed of intricate cast-in place architectural concrete coffered domes, finished with individual molds. At the top of the atrium is the circular oculus of a stainless steel dome, which captures facets of patterned light. The form of the dome changes as the structure descends, so its perimeter becomes an octagon and then a square, which in turn is transformed into four triangular column supports.

Official site - Museum of islamic art



Images courtesy of Museum of Islamic Art