ISPA Conference & Expo
ISPA Conference & Expo
ISPA Conference & Expo

CLAD people

Jean Nouvel

Architect - Project National Museum of Qatar


Jean Nouvel’s long awaited US$434m (€383m, £328.7m) museum opened in Doha, Qatar, at the end of March.

Inspired by the local desert rose, the museum features permanent and temporary galleries, a 220-seat auditorium, a 70 seat forum, heritage and conservation facilities, two cafes, a restaurant and a boutique.

“To imagine a desert rose as a basis for a design was a very advanced idea,” said Nouvel. “To construct a building with great curved disks, intersections, and cantilevered angles – the kind of shapes made by a desert rose – we had to meet enormous technical challenges. This building is at the cutting edge of technology, like Qatar itself.

“As a result, it is a total object: an experience that is at once architectural, spatial, and sensory, with spaces inside that exist nowhere else.”

The 52,000 sq m (569,000 sq ft) structure is located on Doha’s waterfront and its entrance sits behind 114 fountain sculptures in a 900-metre-long lagoon. The roof is made up of 76,000 panels and resembles a giant jigsaw puzzle.

The interior offers 1,500m of gallery space and features a 19th-century carpet, which is embroidered with 1.5 million Gulf pearls, and the oldest Koran yet discovered in Qatar.

Originally scheduled to open in 2016, the museum has been a decade-long project from concept to conclusion. “On a basic level, the museum represents Qatari identity, which has really accelerated in the post-blockade environment,” said Sigurd Neubauer, a Middle East analyst based in Washington DC.

Sheikha Amna bint Abdulaziz bin Jassim al-Thani, the museum’s director, added: “This is a museum that narrates the story of the people of Qatar.”

Gallery
Click on an image to open the image gallery
company profile
Company profile: Painting With Light
Painting with Light is a team of professional lighting and multimedia experts who design and produce visual experiences that dazzle & shine.
Try cladmag for free!
Sign up with CLAD to receive our regular ezine, instant news alerts, free digital subscriptions to CLADweek, CLADmag and CLADbook and to request a free sample of the next issue of CLADmag.
sign up
features
Wanda Metropolitano, Madrid
Antonio Cruz
"We were set the target of building one of the five best stadiums in the world"

Shares the challenges of designing Atletico Madrid's new stadium

UNSense is developing hi-tech solutions
Ben van Berkel believes practices will all become ‘arch tech’ firms
"We’re living in the age of the iPhone, yet the architecture and construction industries are still in the Walkman phase"

On the launch of his tech startup

Mia Kyricos is senior vice president and global head of wellbeing for Hyatt Hotels Corporation
"We’re now smart enough to know that it’s the environments we choose to surround ourselves with that impact our health and wellness"

Home wellness is the future, says Hyatt’s global head of wellbeing

Catalogue Gallery
Click on a catalogue to view it online
To advertise in our catalogue gallery: call +44(0)1462 431385
features
The New National Stadium designs were a joint venture between Ito, Nihon, Takenaka, Shimizu and Obayashi
Toyo Ito was born in Seoul in 1941. He studied architecture at the University of Tokyo
"I have one dream with my work. Architecture should equal nature"

The Pritzker Prize-winner talks about inspiration, battling bureaucracy and the Tokyo National Olympic Stadium saga with Kim Megson

London’s South Place Hotel opened in 2012
Norden studied architecture at Westminster, before joining C&P in 1997. She completed her MA at the Royal College of Art in 2000
"We didn’t want in-your-face sporting references; just subtle things that allow you to tell a story"

The Conran & Partners director outlines the trends shaping hospitality design

features
Craig Cogut founded Pegasus in 1996 and serves as chair and president
"Urban retreats are hard to find. There’s a segment of guests who’d welcome Six Senses hotels in urban locations"

Three years after Pegasus Capital bought Six Senses, how close is the private equity firm to realising its goals for its first spa and hospitality investment? Pegasus’ founder Craig Cogut tells us what’s been achieved and what comes next

The Hilton Innovation Gallery showcases the company’s latest brands, products and vision
"Millennials are pushing us architects to design hotels with distinct personalities"

Sameness is out, authenticity is in when it comes to designing for millennials says Greg Keffer

cladkit product news
Alberto Apostoli and Newform collaborate to launch the A.Zeta showerhead
The showerhead offers two modes; rainfall or waterfall
Megan Whitby
Italian architect Alberto Apostoli has renewed his partnership with Newform – an Italian wellness company – and designed A.Zeta. A.Zeta ...
Eden project uses drones to spell out climate change warning
Magali Robathan
Almost 300 drones were used to signal an environmental message above the Eden Project’s biomes, during the UN Climate Change ...
Alberto Apostoli designs tech-forward Wellness Therapy furniture collection for Varaschin
The furniture collection draws on absolute geometries, pure lines, neutral colours and strong references to nature
Megan Whitby
Furniture manufacturer Varaschin has unveiled the new Wellness Therapy range, designed by Italian spa and wellness architect and designer Alberto ...
cladkit product news
Jaffe Holden helps bring Academy Museum of Motion Pictures alive
Jaffe Holden provided architectural acoustics for the Academy Museum
Magali Robathan
Acoustical consulting firm Jaffe Holden provided architectural acoustics and audio/video design services for the recently opened Academy Museum of Motion ...
Codelocks develops new glass door smart lock
The new lock model allows facilities and building managers to create and manage access via an app or online portal
Megan Whitby
Codelocks has launched its first glass door smart lock to bring intelligent access control to modern spa, leisure, fitness and ...
Mather & Co and ITV unite to create Coronation Street Experience
Mather & Co has transformed the visitor centre into the ultimate haven for ardent Coronation Street viewers
Magali Robathan
Experience designers, Mather & Co, have orchestrated a remarkable collaboration with ITV to unveil the new Coronation Street Experience, a ...
cladkit product news
Eco Resort Network conference to convene in Mauritius this May
The event will be hosted in the Mauritius in 2024
Megan Whitby
Hospitality industry event Eco Resort Network is set to take place at the Ravenala Attitude Hotel, Turtle Bay, Mauritius, from ...
Koto Design introduces wood-fired hot tub
Koto is known for crafting modular, energy-neutral cabins and homes
Katie Barnes
A striking wood-fired hot tub has been unveiled by Koto, an architecture and design studio which has a passion for ...
Siminetti unveils iridescent decorative panelling range inspired by plants
The Clematis design
Megan Whitby
The Botanicals is Siminetti’s newest Mother of Pearl decorative panelling collection, inspired by the distinctive patterns found in botany and ...
ISPA Conference & Expo
ISPA Conference & Expo