herzog & de meuron reveals renderings for lusail museum in qatar

The Lusail Museum by Herzog & de Meuron

Situated on Al Maha Island in Qatar, the Lusail Museum by Herzog & de Meuron takes shape as a cultural hub and a space for artistic exploration. It aims to encourage discussions on cultural exchange and historical connections between nations. The museum hosts various spaces for exhibitions, educational programs, research, and public events, inviting visitors to engage with its diverse offerings. Inspired by the island’s indigenous landscape, the design blends into its surroundings; its architectural form, resembling a truncated sphere partially embedded in the earth, reflects its context while integrating with the coastal environment. Strategically placed at the island’s southern tip, the museum serves as a landmark, while walled gardens throughout enhance the visitor experience by adding greenery to the landscape.

the Lusail Museum provides a platform for cultural exchange and appreciation within Qatar’s urban landscape, all images by Herzog & de Meuron

Intersecting Spheres Shape Lusail Museum in Qatar 

The building by Herzog & de Meuron features three intersecting spheres that shape its volume into two distinct parts: one resembling a full moon and the other a crescent moon, offset from its full counterpart. Between these forms lies a crescent-shaped internal street, naturally illuminated from above, connecting the entrances of the museum to the central lobby and other public areas such as a library, auditorium, shop, café, and prayer space. The internal layout resembles a vertically layered souk, with diverse spaces and uses dispersed within the main body of the museum, offering visitors a multifaceted journey akin to exploring a miniature city contained within a single building. Deeply recessed windows in the façade allow daylight to filter into the interior spaces while protecting them from direct sunlight, providing views of the surrounding sea and the city of Lusail. Additionally, accessible terraces carved out of the façade serve as landscaped gardens or outdoor galleries.

the museum features a curving facade adorned with recessed windows

Enhancing Visitor Experience and Cultural Exchange

The building’s robust mineral expression incorporates specific spaces that serve as contrasts, offering visitors varied scales, material qualities, and sensory experiences. These spaces include a central sculptural polished plaster stair, a reflective metal prayer area, a library adorned with wooden panels, an intimate auditorium, and numerous cushioned niches featuring a range of haptic qualities and materials like wood, textiles, metals, and ceramic tiles. Collaborations with local and regional artisans will ensure a direct connection to the local vernacular, preserving historic trades and fostering cultural exchange. The gallery floors feature display spaces of varying shapes and proportions, tailored to their respective locations while maintaining flexibility for different types of exhibitions. On the top gallery floor, four abstract replicas from significant historical buildings serve as anchor spaces: the dome covering Murat III’s bedroom pavilion in the Palace of Topkapi in Istanbul (1579), the dome of the Jameh Mosque in Natanz (1320), the Ablution fountain in the courtyard of Ibn Tulun Mosque in Cairo (1296), and the Aljafaria dome in Saragossa (1050).

the museum’s exterior cladding presents a textured, sand-like appearance

Each dome features distinct geometry and ornamentation reflecting its geographical heritage, utilizing pendentives, cross arches, muqarnas, and squinches. These architectural elements break the sequence of more traditional galleries, offering unique curatorial and educational opportunities alongside unexpected spatial experiences. The dome was chosen as the architectural typology for these rooms due to its universal presence across cultures throughout history, yet each dome variation reflects specific local geographic and cultural influences. The building features a public, shaded roof terrace resembling a crater-like depression carved out of the top of the structure. Surrounding this terrace are various programs, including a restaurant, member’s lounge, gardens, and chambers containing drinking fountains. The versatile terrace will host both small and large-scale events such as food fairs, book fairs, open-air cinema, fashion shows, and educational workshops. Enclosing the tops of the anchor rooms on the roof terrace are four cube-like volumes, providing structure to the large, circular outdoor space while allowing daylight into the spaces below. Voids cut into the perimeter wall of the roof terrace offer framed views back to the island, the sea, and the city of Lusail.

skylights are dispersed across the roofscape of the building

a central sculptural polished plaster staircase guides visitors to the upper floor 

each dome showcases unique geometry and ornamentation that reflects its geographical heritage

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gallery spaces

 

 

project info: 

name: Lusail Museum

architects: Herzog & de Meuron 

location: Lusail, Doha, Qatar

partners: Jacques HerzogPierre de MeuronAscan Mergenthaler (Partner in Charge)
design consultant: Herzog & de Meuron Basel Ltd., CH, Basel, Rheinschanze 6
executive architect: Tabanlioglu Mimarlik A.S., TR, Beyoğlu, 67 Asmalı Mescit Caddesi
cost consulting: Pro-ge, TR, Istanbul, 257 Büyükdere Caddesi, Nurol Plaza, Workhaus, 21/A,
cost consulting: Rider Levett Bucknall, (RLB), GB, Greater London, 60 New Broad Street
landscape architect: DS Architecture, TR, Istanbul, Kuloglu Mah. Turnacibasi CAD. No. 9
executive architect: CICO Consulting Engineers, Doha, Qatar
MEP & ICT engineering: Barbanel ME, Beirut, Lebanon
structural engineering: Rudolphe Mattar, Beirut, Lebanon
Fire & Safety Engineering: Apave, Beirut, Lebanon
cost manager: DG Jones, Doha, Qatar
architect of record: JCE Al Jazeera, Doha, Qatar
acoustics consultant: Acoustair, The Netherlands
lighting consultant: Dinnebier Studio, Berlin, Germany
transport & security: Ramboll ME, Dubai, UAE
sustainability: Seeds, Beirut, Lebanon
facade engineering: Emmer Pfenninger, Basel, Switzerland
specialist / consulting
other: Tetrazon, Istanbul
gastronomy consulting: Tricon Foodservice Consultant, GB, Romford, St James’s House,
gastronomy consulting: MCT Services, (MCTS), AE, Dubai, Michael Chabowski Technical Services
Signage Consulting: Portland Design, GB, Greater London, The White Chapel Building, 10 Whitechapel High Street
Special Collaborators
cultural projects advisor: Peter Wilson
building data
site area: 1.377.445 sqft, 127.969 sqm
gross floor area (GFA): 564.620 sqft, 52.455 sqm
GFA above ground: 435.615 sqft, 40.470 sqm
GFA below ground: 129.005 sqft, 11.985 sqm
net floor area: 541.865 sqft, 50.341 sqm
number of levels: 5
footprint: 119.231 sqft, 11.077 sqm
length: 410 ft, 125 m
width: 410 ft, 125 m
height: 98 ft, 30 m
gross volume (GV): 12.183.571 cbft, 345.000 cbm
facade surface: 322.917 sqft, 30.000 sqm