Department of Architecture and Urban Planning

College of Engineering
Fall 2022

ARCT 452- CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE IN THE ARAB WORLD

Submission 3

Instructor: Dr. Tarryn NK Paquet

Ganna Khalil 201707127
Project Brief Student Performance Criteria SPCs:
- It is required to do three case studies of contemporary Arab - A7. Historical Traditions and Global Culture: Understanding
building in Qatar. After that, it is necessary to examine and of the parallel and divergent histories of architecture and the
redraft (to scale) these buildings and settlements in cultural norms of a variety of indigenous, vernacular, local,
accordance with the following specifications. and regional settings in terms of their political, economic,
social, ecological, and technological factors.
- A. FLOOR PLANS (1:100)
- B. SECTIONS (1:100) - C1. Applied Research: Understanding of the theoretical and
- C. ELEVATIONS (1:100) applied research methodologies and practices used during
- D. SITE PLAN (1:200) the design process.
Museum of Islamic Arts
2008
I. M. Pei
Doha, Qatar

- The Museum of Islamic Art will gather, preserve, research, and display works of art from three continents that date from the seventh to the nineteenth
centuries with the goal of reflecting the entire life, complexity, and diversity of the arts of the Islamic world.

- The 376,740-square-foot Museum of Islamic Art, designed by Pritzker Prize–winning architect I.M. Pei, rises from the sea at Doha Bay in the Arabian
Gulf and displays a collection of world-renowned works of art in galleries encircling a towering, five-story-high domed atrium.

- As always, how one approaches a building has a significant

impact on how that building is seen. There are some
similarities with another building during that approach

- Another museum that IM Pei designed is seen in Suzhou.

The Suzhou Museum isn't just ordinary museum; since IM
Pei grew up in Suzhou, it obviously holds a special place in
his heart.

- It is obvious that the design had a big influence on his later work on the
Museum of Islamic Art. Despite the latter's bigger scale, a similar language of
orthogonal and diagonal lines could be seen.

- Both structures' floor designs are remarkably similar. Although the two
designs are similar in shape, they are distinct from one another by a different
external material, making them each feel completely at home in their unique
cultures and environments.
 Sketch of First Floor Plan
Sketch of Ground Floor Plan The complex designed by I.M. By: Author
By: Author Pei, MIA consists of a five-story
main building and an education
wing that are joined by a sizable
central courtyard.

- The main factor influencing this building is orientation. From the moment you step
foot within the premises, you just want to move ahead.

- Eventually, this forward motion brings you to the picture Qatar wants you to have in
your mind: the Doha skyline rising into the distance.

Sketch By: Wahyu Pratomo and Kris Provoost

- The building appears solid, introverted, strong, yet complex from the outside.
However, it is empty from the inside, bringing your attention up to the geometric
skylight—another perspective that everyone will undoubtedly capture on camera or at
the very least get lost in.
Sketch By: Wahyu Pratomo and Kris Provoost
Qatar National Museum
2019
Jean Nouvel
Doha, Qatar

- On March 28, 2019, the modern building, which replaced the earlier one that had debuted in 1975,
was made publicly accessible.

- The desert rose crystal, which can be found in Qatar, served as inspiration for the architect Jean
Nouvel as he created the structure. When minerals crystallize in the crumbly soil just below the
surface of a shallow salt basin, a rock known as the "desert rose" is created. The medieval palace is
surrounded by a necklace-like structure of interconnecting disks that appears to have grown naturally.
Desert Rose
Source: Pinterest
- The desert-rose shape symbolizes Qatar's culture and weather. It rises up from the earth and fuses
with it. Visitors may wander about outside while also being shielded from sun and heat by the
shadows cast by overhanging materials.

- The center of Qatari national identity, Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani's Palace, is located on the
museum grounds.

- The structure's design also takes into account the

environment in the area. For example, the broad
eaves provide shaded areas, local materials like
concrete and plants are used, and thermal buffer
zones within the disc chambers produce thermal
masses that lower cooling demands.

- The sand-colored concrete blends in beautifully with

the area's dusty and muggy surroundings. The
structure is built on the light, shadow, and movement
that comes from the soil and merges with it, just like
the desert people whose tale it depicts.
- The structure is designed as a circle that
spirals for about a mile and gives you the
impression that you have arrived on the
fictional planet . It is a massive collision of
sandy-hued concrete spheres.

- The palace forms a chain that connects the

snaking structure, creating a large courtyard
in the middle. By going through the
building—from the main entrance off by a
vehicle drop-off that crawls beneath the
museum, you may access this area. Being in
this outside area fills one with astonishment
since it is difficult to comprehend what is
hidden behind the walls of cascading disks.

Ground Floor Plan

Source : Architectural record website

- The project's approximate 40,000 square meters of gross floor space includes 8,000
square meters for permanent displays and 2,000 square meters for temporary exhibitions.
A research center, laboratories, a conference room with 70 seats, an auditorium with 220
seats, two restaurants, a cafeteria, storage facilities for the conservation of the collections,
and a museum store are also included in the 112,000 m2 park, which also has an artificial
lagoon and 400 parking spaces.

- The building envelope's aesthetics and performance requirements were met with fiber
reinforced concrete siding panels, which were supported by radial and orthogonal steel
frames.
 North Elevation
Source : The plan.it

West Elevation
Source : The plan.it

- The structure is made up of several, spherically shaped disks that fit together tightly and have varied diameters and curvatures. Some disks rest on other
disks in a "horizontal" position. The "vertical" disks support the structure and move the weight from the horizontal planes to the foundation. The inside is a
landscape of interconnecting disks, just like the outside. The surfaces are neutral and one color.

- Its thick disks operate as a type of cushioned barrier and sunblock thanks to their weight. The disks produce lengthy, shielding shadows when the sun
shines on the structure from the east or west. The structure does not have many openings, and the few windows that it does have are positioned such
that the sun never reaches them.

- Specifically, 28,000 tons of reinforced concrete, fiberglass reinforcements, glass, and steel components were employed in its construction, which is around
four times as much as was required to create Paris' Eiffel Tower.
- The design of the museum suggests the interconnecting
convex pattern of the petals, each at a different angle, in the
shape of a desert rose leaf, symbolizing the secrets of the
concretions and crystallization of the desert. In order to imitate
the traditional "caravans," caravans used by the Bedouins in
the desert to house Pilgrims or visitors, the constructions of
the frames that form various angles are arranged in an axle
and radius arrangement surrounded by reinforced concrete
panels.

- The museum's slabs, walls, and ceilings were made using a

total of 130 lenses or discs. These spherical discs come in two
distinct types—ceiling lenses and vertical lenses—and have
radii that range from 10 to 43 meters. They are designed to
be changed using beams to the lower and lower slabs.

- The project's support system, the vertical discs transfer the

remaining loads from the horizontal planes to the base. A
radial steel reinforcing framework and a waterproofing
envelope are combined to produce the discs. The mullions for
the panes look integrated in the spaces between them, giving
the appearance of a frameless design from the outside. These
gaps between the disks are what give the structure its voids.
Structure
Source : The plan.it
Primary Structure:

- Primary steel structure is a type of steel construction used to create the supporting structure. Bolts establish the connection between the primary and
secondary steel framework, which supports the cladding. These studs have an internal circular thread and regulate the lens' curved shape.

Secondry Structure:

- Steel profiles make up the secondary construction. They are curved to line up with the concrete panel's attachment, which is axially symmetrical. The
secondary steel structure is made up of simple-supporting beams that are spaced no more than 3 meters apart.

- One has a round hole, while the other has an oblong hole, and they are attached with pins in the extremities. As a result, there is a limited amount of
force transmission caused by thermal movement between the secondary and primary structure.
Msheireb Juma’a Msoque
2010
John McAslan + Partners.
Doha, Qatar

- The Mosque is located in the 30ha Msheireb Downtown Doha development, near to the major Al Bahara Square, in a colonnaded courtyard with a
central water rill. The Mosque's rectilinear plan, cuboid volumes, and restrained yet elegant elevational modeling recall the clean lines of Josef
Hoffmann's pre-1918 architecture, possibly the Msheireb's most precisely ordered fusion of Islamic and Modernist architecture.

- This intensifies the atmospheres created by the Islamic arrangement of thresholds as well as the exquisitely complex geometric patterning of surfaces,
screens, and falls of light within the interior volumes.

- A modern interpretation of materialism and order is mixed with the concepts of simplicity, practicality, and spirituality in this concept, which has evolved
from the historic mosque of Qatar. Making sure that men and women could enter the mosque's entrances and its internal areas separately, in line with
Islamic conventions, was a major design problem.
- White stone is used to construct the ideal cube structure. The entry pavilion and supporting areas, including the Imam's lodging, are surrounded by
metal gates with Islamic patterns on them. A perforated, patterned ceiling inside the prayer hall enables dappled natural light to penetrate, creating a
meditative setting for contemplation.

- Simpleness, utility, spirituality, light, pattern, geometry, and water are some of the fundamental elements of Islamic art and architecture that are
reflected in this design. A double square-based layout and the use of geometric patterns and motifs create an exquisite space with ideal proportions,
as well as patterns of dappled light and shadow thanks to the punctured ceiling screens.

- A double square-based floor plan and the use of geometric patterns and motifs create an exquisite space with ideal proportions, as well as patterns
of dappled light and shadow thanks to the punctured ceiling screens.

Ground Floor Plan and First Floor Plan

Source : Archello
- Stone that is perfectly white is used to produce the ideal cube structure. The entry pavilion and courtyard
are enclosed by metal gates with Islamic patterns. A perforated, patterned canopy inside the prayer hall
allows dappled natural light to fill the room, creating a meditative setting for contemplation.

- On either side of the courtyard, a stone colonnade frames a beautiful courtyard square. Before the Prayer
Hall's entrance, a pond provides a sense of peace and reflection.

- The mosque was built using a frame made of in-place concrete and filled with blocks. Both Qatari stone and
local limestone are utilized as accent bands on the courtyard floor. Bronze is cast into screens to add depth
and richness.

- The mosque uses both passive and active sustainable design elements, such as photovoltaics and solar hot
water heaters, and was built to the "LEED" gold level. Since natural light is used throughout the day, no
artificial lighting is required in the prayer hall.