Four early 20th-century traditional houses with interior courtyards in Downtown Doha were remodelled and extended to accommodate museums related to the occupations or visions of the people who once lived there, providing a unique testament to the history and culture of Qatar.
The museum managers commissioned Empty to define the contents and installation design for four temporary exhibitions dedicated to different aspects of the social and cultural scene in Qatar: Intersections (120 m2), Moving Energy (80 m2), Sustainable Cities (120 m2) and Innovate (80 m2). Since the idea was to tour the exhibitions, the assembly and transport system had to be simple and versatile for ease of handling. The brief also included developing the texts, audiovisual elements, graphics and lighting.
The commission was subsequently extended to two additional exhibitions designed by the Dutch studio Opera, Building a Future (120 m2) and Branded (450 m2), for which Empty defined the concept and developed the contents.
The interpretation of the scripts provided by the client in terms of content and architecture was carried out according to the goals pursued for these exhibitions: to present attractive installations for large numbers of visitors combining pedagogical and recreational aims with an interactive approach.
