The angular concrete form of the OMA-designed Qatar National Library in Doha has been photographed by several Instagram users, ahead of its imminent completion.
Architect: OMA
Project Location: Qatar
Rem Koolhaas’ firm has disclosed few details about its design so far – it isn’t even listed on the OMA website. But it is one of several buildings the architects have been working on in the Arab country, including the nearby Qatar Foundation Headquarters.
The 45,000-square-metre building will be divided up into three wings, each housing a different type of library.
The National Library will contain heritage material relating to Qatar and the region, the University and Research Library will contain education resources, and the Metropolitan Public Library will serve the local community.
Facilities will include a conservation library for preserving sensitive documents, a digitisation suite, a 120-seat auditorium, and dedicated libraries for children and teenagers.
Plans for the library were first announced in 2012. It is being built at Education City, a major new city campus that is also home to the Qatar National Convention Centre by Japanese architect Arata Isozaki.
Instagram photos reveal an angular concrete form that creates diamond-shaped facades. An entrance is sheltered beneath the structure’s elevated end, while windows appear to be made from undulating panels of glass.
OMA – which ranked at number 12 on the Dezeen Hot List – has been appointed to work on numerous projects in Qatar, but few have completed so far.
The firm was also commissioned to masterplan a new city quarter between Doha and the new Hamad International Airport.
