Virtual Tour Series: Bilbao – Doha, Callers in the Desert

There are plenty of similarities between the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao and the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, starting with their typology, some urbanistic characteristics, the signature of an international star architect and the importance of the building as one piece of the puzzle in a large-scale masterplan. But the starting points of the projects couldn’t have been any more different. The Guggenheim Museum was a cornerstone for the creation of a new image for Bilbao, which was struggling with its rebirth after a severe industrial decline. The mediatic impact that one outstanding building could generate for the development of a city surprised the international public. Doha, in contrast, has multiplicated itself at tremendous speed over the last decades, growing from a few fishermen huts to a skyscraper city. For the young country of Qatar, the islamic museum is a claim to a serious role in the arabic world, presenting the world’s first collection of islamic art at such a large scale.