The opening of the National Museum of Qatar, built according to the project of Jean Nouvel, became the loudest architectural event of the spring of 2019. About the unusual concept, which is based on the image of gypsum lenticular crystals, we previously wrote in our article. The interior spaces of the museum, in particular, the souvenir shop, designed by Koichi Takada Architects, deserve a separate story.
Photo: © tom ferguson
Photo: © tom ferguson
Sculptural undulating walls, formed from more than 40 thousand wooden fragments, imitate the space of Dal Al Misfira cave, or, as it is also called, "Caves of the World".
Dal Al Misfir Cave, Qatar
The cave, with a depth of more than 40 meters, is famous for the fact that the walls, consisting of gypsum deposits, including "Desert Rose" crystals, fluoresce in the dark, and during the day, streams of light penetrating from above create a complex play of shadows and light on the vaults.
"We draw inspiration from nature. Architecture is something more than the creation of perfect forms, and it should affect all our senses," is Koita Takada's philosophy.
Photo: © tom ferguson
Photo: © tom ferguson
To recreate the atmosphere of the Cave of Light in the interiors of the museum store, Koichi Takada used parametric 3D modeling. But to implement the idea, carpenters from Italy were invited. "Can you imagine how difficult it is to assemble 40000 wooden pieces of a three-dimensional puzzle? Each wooden element cut on a CNC machine has a unique shape. The wall panels were assembled by hand in Doha by the Italian carpenter Claudio Devoto and his team of craftsmen," Koichi Takada Architects reported.
