The new National Museum, built around the Fariq Al Salatah Palace includes a series of interlocking discs of different dimensions and curvatures. These discs will form all the essential elements of the building comprising walls, ceilings, floors and terraces. Each disc will be made of steel truss structure assembled in a hub-and-spoke arrangement and covered in glass-reinforced concrete. Glazed facades will fill the voids between discs.
The design of the museum resembles a ring of low-lying, interlocking pavilions which surround a large courtyard area. The entire walls of the museum will be represented as the cinematic displays of the oral-history. It will also feature hand-held mobile devices to guide visitors. The exterior of the museum will be made of sand-colored concrete. The museum will also feature disk-shaped sun-breaker elements to filter sunlight.
The interiors of the museum also reflect a landscape of interlocking discs. The floors of the museum are sand-colored and polished in concrete, while the vertical disk walls are clad in ‘stuc-pierre,’ a traditional gypsum- and lime-blended plaster formulated to imitate stone.
The building will house a permanent gallery space of 86,000 square feet area along with the temporary gallery space of 21,500 square feet and a 220-seat auditorium. Additional features include a 70-seat food forum / TV studio along with two cafés, a museum shop and a restaurant. A 1.2 million square-foot landscaped park will surround the museum with separate facilities for school groups and special guests.
The building is looking for LEED silver rating from the US Green Building Council. It features thermal buffer zones inside the disk cavities to reduce cooling loads. The deep overhangs of the disc will create cool and shady areas for outdoor promenades and also protect the interior from heat and light. Locally sourced materials like steel and concrete will be used in construction and the landscaping will feature native vegetation with low-water consumption.
The natural history of the Qatar peninsula, the history of Qatar from 18th century till today and the social and cultural history of Qatar will be the three themes on which the galleries in the museum will be based.
