photographer vincent hecht takes to doha to document OMA's qatar national library

tokyo-based photographer vincent hecht presents his architectural photo series, detailing the OMA-designed qatar national library (QNL). the project, which officially opened in 2018, is defined by its figural profile comprising a slender, faceted geometry and exaggerated span. QNL encompasses the national library, the public library, the university library, and the heritage collection, which consists of valuable texts and manuscripts related to the arab-islamic civilization. the monumental public library is home to over one million books and offers space for a thousand visitors with a floor area of 42,000 square meters.

images © vincent hecht

through his images of the qatar national library, photographer vincent hecht portrays OMA’s massive, sweeping interiors and enormous structural spans. repetitive layers of shelving, dense with millions of books, is represented with a visual richness that contrasts the sweeping ceiling’s strict grid that spans overhead. the building’s perimeter is lifted from the ground, allowing for three aisles to accommodate the library’s collection while enclosing a centralized triangular space.

vincent hecht captures the integration of the building with both its infrastructure and its bookshelves. while its shelving bays are fabricated from the same white carrara statuario marble as the floors, the building integrates artificial lighting, ventilation, and the book return system. a heritage collection is housed at the library’s center in an excavated space situated six-meters below the level of the main floor, clad with beige travertine. this collection operates both as a part of the library on the whole, and autonomously — directly accessible from the street.

project info:

project title: qatar national library

architecture: OMA

location: doha, qatar

photography: © vincent hecht