New Museum of Modern Arab Art by Rafael Viñoly Architects

This new museum is designed by New York based architects Rafael Viñoly for the Museum of Modern Arab Art in Doha, Qatar, will be completed by 2011. It encompasses approximately 33,000 square meters of gallery space, library, public areas, maintenance, dining, storage and support areas.

This building is one of only a few in the world designed using a canvas-like material. This project presented many engineering challenges, including the design of an air conditioning system that can maintain proper temperature and humidity to preserve sensitive artwork and manuscripts.

The building is set into a landscape of sculpture gardens and outdoor terraces which take advantage of the favorable climate, and also has provision for visitor parking.

The museum will has two levels. MEP spaces and service corridors will be located along the perimeter to allow for changes to specific galleries while maintaining the remaining galleries open to the public. An emergency generator will be provided to support art storage areas and selected galleries displaying artwork.

Link Via [Gizmodo] & [Dezeen]