In partnership with ARCADE, ACDF Architecture proposed a visionary concept for the Museum of Architecture in Doha. Inspired by the dazzling speed at which skylines of emerging cities transform, the project embodies an urban silhouette in perpetual motion — a dialogue between solid and void, built and unbuilt. Originating from a perfect prism shaped by the golden ratio, the volume is split and shifted apart to create a reflecting pool, a threshold between architecture and horizon. Suspended above the water, the museum hosts its hall, café, and boutique, while a multifunctional underground platform links the exhibition spaces and accommodates cultural events.
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In partnership with ARCADE, ACDF Architecture has proposed a visionary concept for the Museum of Architecture in Doha, Qatar, inspired by the dazzling speed at which the skylines of emerging cities such as Doha are transforming, as well as by the continuous momentum of change that has shaped cities throughout history. The project embodies this idea of an ever-evolving urban silhouette — a delicate dialogue between solid and void, built and unbuilt.
The concept takes form through a series of volumetric manipulations. At its origin stands a perfect prism, designed according to the golden ratio, symbolizing balance and universality. A fractured line, evoking the profile of a skyline, slices the volume into two distinct parts. These are then translated apart, creating a vast reflecting pool. This mirror of water becomes a symbolic threshold between architecture and horizon, capturing the fertile tension between presence and absence, matter and reflection, the tangible and the immaterial.
Suspended above the water, the main volume houses the reception hall, boutique, and café. Its roof is composed of a multitude of hollowed rectangular prisms, within which light wells reveal a mosaic of textures, colors, and materials. Together, they form an architectural patchwork, a tribute to the plural and universal character of architecture — rooted in specific cultures, yet unified by a restrained and timeless exterior materiality. A few pillars, conceived as exhibition boxes, punctuate the space and announce the permanent and thematic collections below.
Across the reflecting pool, a field of autonomous prisms forms an outdoor gallery open to all, where the story of architecture is revealed continuously. This installation democratizes access to culture and offers a public exhibition forecourt. Beneath the water’s surface, a vast multifunctional space acts as both circulation platform and gathering hall. Flexible in use, it can also transform into an amphitheater hosting conferences, screenings, and cultural events. Bathed in light filtered through water, this space becomes an experience at once monumental and meditative.
In Doha, architecture here emerges as a cultural horizon: a universal place of memory, exchange, and future.