The Pearl-Qatar in Doha, Qatar

The Pearl-Qatar in Doha, Qatar, is an expensive residential complex that is being crafty developed on an artificial island, off the coast of Doha’s West Bay. The four-square-kilometers island formed on reclaimed land has 32 KM of new coastline lined with private villas, dozens of apartment’s towers and hundreds of homes, along with extravagance hotels and luxurious stores and restaurants. Since from 2012, over 5,000 inhabitants have already moved in, although construction work will complete in 2015, the island will have room for 41,000. Therefore The Pearl-Qatar is one of the most aspiring development project in Qatar, and the first development to offer freehold and residential rights to international clients.

The development’s name “Pearl” refers to the main pearl-diving industry that used to be based on the shallow seabed where the island is being built. Qatar was one of the major pearl traders of Asia before the Japanese introduced cheaper more inexpensive pearls just before Qatar's oil boom. The island is beautifully design & resembles a string of pearls. The Pearl-Qatar’s first phase and gateway to the Island boasts of the world’s longest waterfront extravagance retail walkway, the 3.5 KM marina-front pedestrian boardwalk “La Croisette”, actually home to international hospitality brands and high-end boutiques. The big Porto Arabia district comprises 31 apartment towers around a circular lagoon with a central island and a marina with space for 750 boats.

There’re also over 400 town homes, and more than 6,000 parking spaces and widespread space for retail stores including a multitude of internationally famous outlets. These also include brands like Hugo Boss, Giorgio Armani, Roberto Cavalli and Elie Saab. There’ll also be a “Venice-like community” with extensive canal system, pedestrian-friendly squares and plazas and beachfront townhouses. There is even a replica of Venice’s Rialto Bridge. Well, when this huge project was first revealed in 2004, the estimated initial cost of constructing the island stood at $2.5 billion. However, now it is believed the project cost will touch $15 billion upon completion.

Museum of Islamic Art in Doha Qatar

There is nothing timid about the motivations of the new Museum of Islamic Art. Rising on its own island just off the city’s just now developed waterfront corniche, it is the centerpiece of an massive effort to transform Qatar into an arts destination. The museum’s colossal geometric form has an ageless quality, evoking a past when Islamic art and architecture was a nexus of world culture. At the same time it conveys a hope for reconnecting again. The museum of Islamic art draws much influence from ancient Islamic architecture yet has an exclusive design. It was the first of its kind in the Persian Gulf and has a very large collection of Islamic art, plus a study, a library, and numerous restaurants. Sabiha Al Khemir served as the founding director of the museum from 2006 to 2008. The museum has a total area of 45,000 m2 and lies on the edge of Doha harbor at the south end of Doha Bay.

It’s construction done by Baytur Constr.Co. (Turkey), which is completed in 2006, but the interior was subjected to a range of changes thereafter. The museum celebrated a VIP opening on November 22, 2008, and opened to the general public on December 1, 2008. The lovely building seems austere by the standards of the flashy attention-grabbing forms that we have come to associate with Persian Gulf cities like Dubai and Abu Dhabi. It is designed by I. M. Pei, 91, who has described it as his last major cultural building, it recalls a time when architectural expression was both more earnest and more optimistic, and the rift between modernity and tradition had yet to reach full pitch.

The museum, which consist houses manuscripts, textiles, ceramics and other works generally assembled over the last 20 years, has emerged as one of the world’s most encyclopedic collections of Islamic art. The origins of its artifacts range from Spain to Egypt to Iraq, Iran, Turkey, India and Central Asia. The architecture is very solid and simple and there is nothing unnecessary. The imposing simplicity of this new museum is brought to life by the play of light and shadow under the gulf’s blazing sun. Doha in various ways is virginal and there is no real context there, no real life unless you go into the souk. It is seen from across the water is gorgeous sand-colored stone blocks call to mind the Tunisian fortresses it is modeled after. The museum is an object and it is treated as a piece of sculpture.