DOHA: Qatar Museums revealed the finalists for the Art Mill International Design Competition for the project set to transform the Qatar Flour Mills site into ‘Art Mill’ — a massive museum that will contain art galleries and house Qatar Museums’ (QM) growing collection.
The eight competition finalists included Adam Khan Architects (UK), Atelier Bow-Wow (Japan), EAA Emre Arolat Architecture (Turkey), Elemental (Chile), junya.ishigami + associates (Japan), Mangado & Asociados (Spain), Renzo Piano Building Workshop (Italy) and Rice+Lipka Architects (US).
The competition’s open call for interest attracted 489 submissions from 56 countries.
Gifted with one of the most spectacular and historic sites in the centre of Doha, the Art Mill will be pre-eminent in Doha’s waterfront ensemble of institutions dedicated to art and is expected to become one of the world’s leading cultural centres.
The site, which extends into the Arabian Sea on three sides, adjoins the park around I M Pei’s Museum of Islamic Art, and is close to Jean Nouvel’s forthcoming National Museum of Qatar. It was until recently occupied by Qatar Flour Mills and is historically significant as a key node within the Arabian Gulf port — essential for the import of grain.
The finalists were selected by the international jury from the second stage, 26-strong long list on the basis of their strategies for the site and its links to the city. The jury met over two days last month in Doha to analyse and review the teams’ drawings, narratives and models.
The competition jury members are H E Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Chairperson, Qatar Museums; H E Sheikh Jassim bin Abdulaziz Al Thani; Dr Hassan Rashid Al Derham, President, Qatar University; Professor Harry Gugger, Principal, Harry Gugger Studio; Dr Akel I Kahera, Dean, Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar; Sir John Leighton, Director-General, National Galleries of Scotland; Jasper Morrison, Designer; Hiroshi Sugimoto, Photographic artist, sculptor, architect, producer, and author; and Professor Chris Wise FREng FICE RDI, Director, Expedition.
The eight finalists will now be given a further briefing and progress onto more detailed concept designs for the Art Mill, which is conceived as a vibrant and multi-layered civic and cultural presence, a focus for the emerging campus of museums and cultural institutions at the eastern end of the Corniche.
H E Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani said: “The long-list was distinguished by some of the most talented architects practising today – and it is in recognition of this that we have expanded the shortlist from the five originally envisaged to eight. “The competition reached out to designers working in very different contexts and communities. So we are delighted that the practices who persuaded the jury through their concept drawings and models reflect this diversity. They bring international perspectives as well as cultural sensitivity to this inspirational project for Qatar. The creative challenge here can’t really be overstated. This project offers a chance to redefine museum architecture, to crystallise the very latest thinking on audience engagement, technology and environmental strategies. The museum experience in Doha is a special one. We have a young demographic, and the habit of bringing the family to the museum, enjoying the grounds and amenities at weekends, has caught on across our society.”
Jury interviews with the finalists will take place in early autumn 2016, with the winner announced shortly afterwards.
The Peninsula
