The following description is courtesy of the architects. On the occasion of 18th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, Qatar Creates will present the documentary exhibition Building a Creative Nation, the first presentation outside the country of Qatar’s next generation of cultural institutions. Hosted at ACP – Palazzo Franchetti, the exhibition will be on view from 14 May – 26 November, 2023.
Building a Creative Nation, designed by 2 x 4, focuses on five new cultural venues being developed by Qatar Museums in Qatar with internationally acclaimed architectural practices ELEMENTAL, Herzog & de Meuron, Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), Philippe Starck, and UNStudio. The new developments all will be operated by Qatar Museums which is responsible for preserving and enlarging Qatar’s cultural endowment by overseeing the country’s growing network of museums, heritage sites, festivals, public art program, and more.
The exhibition brings together renderings, photographs, sketches, studies, models, video, as well as immersive content, to present each project as a considered architectural response to an aspect of Qatar Museums’ program of cultural nation-building. Whether new construction or adaptive reuse, each future institution demonstrates Qatar’s commitment to architecture as a strategic tool for achieving the country’s forward-looking cultural objectives, outlined in the Qatar National Vision 2030, chiefly its goal to grow an innovative and diversified society through investment in the creative industries.
Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Chairperson of Qatar Museums, said, “When the opportunity to support the exhibition of Kengo Kuma on the occasion of the Venice Architectural Biennale 2023 arose, we felt that it would be a great moment to share the cultural projects that Qatar is embarking on after its successful hosting for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. The cultural, economic, and socio-political relationship between Qatar and Italy has always been strong, as has the relationship between Qatar and Japan. It is therefore a great moment in our modern history to reveal the extent of Qatar’s cultural program, amongst one of the greatest displays of architecture and most important showcases anywhere for epoch-making designs.”
Projects featured in Building a Creative Nation are:
Rendering © Qatar Museums
Art Mill Museum
Architect: ELEMENTAL led by Alejandro Aravena
Lusail Museum
Architect: Herzog & de Meuron
Qatar Auto Museum
Architect: Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), led by Rem Koolhaas and Samir Bantal
Qatar Preparatory School
Architectural concept: Philippe Starck
Dadu, Children’s Museum of Qatar
Architect: UNStudio
These new developments build on the legacy of Qatar’s continuing investment in the world-class museums and cultural spaces that have opened in the country over the last 15 years. They include: Museum of Islamic Art, architect: I. M. Pei (2008); Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, architect: François Bodin (2010); Fire Station, architect: Ibrahim Al Jaidah (2015); Qatar National Library, architect: OMA (2017); National Museum of Qatar, architect: Jean Nouvel (2019); M7, architect: John McAslan + Partners (2021); and 3-2-1 Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum, architect: Joan Sibina (2022).
Other notable architectural commissions in Qatar in recent years have included Al Janoub Stadium by Zaha Hadid Architects, Lusail Stadium by Foster + Partners, the Qatar National Convention Centre by Arata Isozaki + Associates, and the Education City Student Center and buildings for three international university programs by Legorreta + Legorreta.
As part of its commitment to furthering international dialogue through architecture and as main sponsor, Qatar has provided support for a special exhibition of the work of the celebrated Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, presented simultaneously with Building a Creative Nation at ACP-Palazzo Franchetti.
Kengo Kuma is one of the most renowned architects working in Japan today, acclaimed for his merger of architecture and landscape and for his emphasis on natural light and natural materials, especially wood. Among his notable buildings are the Yusuhara wooden bridge museum, the Garden Terrace Nagasaki hotel in southwest Japan, the Yunfeng Spa Resort in China, the V&A Dundee, and Japan’s National Stadium, the centrepiece for the 2020 Olympic Games.
The exhibition, Onomatopeia – Selected Projects, will explore the full range of Kuma’s work in diverse materials. A large-scale metal pavilion designed by Kuma will occupy a central space in the walled garden of Palazzo Franchetti.
