Shortlist Announced for Art Mill Competition in Qatar

Qatar Museums (QM) announced the shortlist today, a list that was supposed to be made up of five firms but was extended by the jury* to eight "in recognition of the quality of second stage (masterplan) submissions." The finalists will "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," per the announcement. Other institutions near the Art Mill site (a waterfront peninsula most recently occupied by a flour mill) include I.M. Pei’s Museum of Islamic Art and Jean Nouvel’s National Museum of Qatar now under construction.

Alphabetical list of the eight finalists:

• 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)
• Rice+Lipka Architects (US)

As part of the announcement, Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, QM Chairperson, ambitiously described the Art Mill project: "This project offers a chance to redefine museum architecture, to crystallize the very latest thinking on audience engagement, technology and environmental strategies." Further, in words that hint at the shape the project will take, "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."

The winner of the Art Mill competition should be announced in the fall.

*The jury, which was advised by competition organizer and architect Malcolm Reading of Malcolm Reading Consultants and QM technical representative Maha Hamad Al Hajri:

• Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani
• His Excellency 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
• Professor Chris Wise FREng FICE RDI, Director, Expedition