In 2004 our practice was invited by Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al-Thani to undertake a feasibility study for a museum to house his extensive collection of artifacts. Two locations were investigated - the City Centre Shopping Complex in Doha and the Al Shahaniya Farm, 30km east ofthe capital.
The collection is highly eclectic, ranging from natural history items to Islamic antiquities, European furniture, jewellery, automobiles, bicycles, and 20th century ephemera. Our objective was to display the collection in a coherent way using broadly interlinking themes.
The Al Shahaniya Farm location was eventually chosen as the preferred site for the museum, and was opened to the public in 2008.
