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Discuss this article (0 Comments)Geometric genius
by ArabianBusiness.com staff writer on Friday, 10 April 2009
zoomAt the top of the atrium, an oculus captures and reflects patterned light around the stainless steel dome, which transforms the architecture into a showcase of light and shadow.
A critical look at IM Pei's Museum of Islamic Art.
First inspired by the work of Le Corbusier and Mies van der Rohe and then studying under Walter Gropius at Harvard University, IM Pei's favoured materials are the stone, concrete, glass and steel of modernist architecture.
It is no surprise, then, that after both Rasem Badran and Charles Correa failed to deliver an acceptable design for what would be Doha's Museum of Islamic Art (MIA), the Qatar Museums Authority (QMA) approached the master of modernism about submitting a concept design.
Pei's efforts resulted in an amalgam of simplistic beauty and geometric genius that drew inspiration from the ribat fortresses of Monastir and Sousse in Tunisia and the severity and simplicity of the ablutions fountain (sabil) at the Mosque of Ibn Tulun in Cairo.
I asked if it might not be possible to create my own site. This was very selfish of me of course, but I knew that in Qatar it is not too complicated to create landfill. - IM Pei
Ultimately built on its own reclaimed island, the 376,740 ft² MIA was originally meant to be the centrepiece of the Doha Corniche until Pei got involved. His vision for the future of development around the original sites led to concerns of both crowding and contextualism.
"There were not yet too many buildings nearby, but I feared that in the future, large structures might overshadow it," explained Pei during MIA's opening ceremony. "I asked if it might not be possible to create my own site. This was very selfish of me of course, but I knew that in Qatar it is not too complicated to create landfill."
Design Inspiration: A journey
Very soon after accepting his commission from HE Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Chairperson of the Qatar Museum Authority, Pei correctly reasoned that creating an Islamic building would require much more than including ‘traditional' aesthetic elements.
In fact, Pei embarked on a journey to "grasp the essence of Islamic architecture" that saw him travel from Iberia to Mughal India to China in an effort to pinpoint architecture that evoked a truly Islamic inspiration.
Visits to the Grand Mosque (Cordoba, Spain), Jama Masjid Mosque (Fatehpur Sikri, India), the Umayyad Great Mosque (Damascus, Syria) as well as several mosques in Tunisia and China, Pei remained unsatisfied.
"I thought [the Grand Mosque in Cordoba] represented the pinnacle of Islamic architecture, but I was wrong. It was too lush and colourful.... The climate and culture of Spain meant that Cordoba was not the pure expression I was seeking.
The same was true, for different reasons, of the Jama Masjid...," explained Pei. "Even the Umayyad Great Mosque in Damascus... seems to carry with it elements of Rome or early Christianity or Byzantine influences.... I went to Tunisia and although my intention had been to examine the mosques, I was taken with the ribat fortresses of Monastir and Sousse."
After experiencing firsthand that which he believed to be the heart of his vision and being disappointed, Pei took some time for reflection. He began asking himself what he saw in those simple fortresses in Tunisia that he hadn't seen in so many ‘icons' of Islamic architecture.
Dimensions
Total building: 35,500sq m (382,118sq ft)
Total gallery space: 4,225sq m (45,477sq ft)
Permanent gallery space: 3,100sq m (33,368sq ft)
Temporary gallery space: 750sq m (8,073sq ft)
Study galleries: 375sq m (4,036sq ft)
Education Wing: 2,700sq m (29,062sq ft)
Library: 820sq m (8,826sq ft)
Conservation lab: 400sq m (4,305sq ft)
Collection storage: 1,800sq m (19,375sq ft)
Auditorium (197 seats): 430sq m (4,628sq ft)
Restaurant: 380sq m (4,090sq ft)
Gift shop: 300sq m (3,229sq ft)
Highest point (inside): 50m (164ft)
Highest point (outside): 63m (207ft)
North facing glazed glass: 45m (148ft)
Chandelier (main lobby): 12m diameter (39ft)
Light pillars at the boat dock: 30m high each (98ft)
Museum Park (inc. peninsula): 26 hectares (64.2 acres)
Ceremonial entrance & bridge: 280m (918ft)
Total building: 35,500sq m (382,118sq ft)
Total gallery space: 4,225sq m (45,477sq ft)
Permanent gallery space: 3,100sq m (33,368sq ft)
Temporary gallery space: 750sq m (8,073sq ft)
Study galleries: 375sq m (4,036sq ft)
Education Wing: 2,700sq m (29,062sq ft)
Library: 820sq m (8,826sq ft)
Conservation lab: 400sq m (4,305sq ft)
Collection storage: 1,800sq m (19,375sq ft)
Auditorium (197 seats): 430sq m (4,628sq ft)
Restaurant: 380sq m (4,090sq ft)
Gift shop: 300sq m (3,229sq ft)
Highest point (inside): 50m (164ft)
Highest point (outside): 63m (207ft)
North facing glazed glass: 45m (148ft)
Chandelier (main lobby): 12m diameter (39ft)
Light pillars at the boat dock: 30m high each (98ft)
Museum Park (inc. peninsula): 26 hectares (64.2 acres)
Ceremonial entrance & bridge: 280m (918ft)
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