Inspired by I.M. Pei.

On each visit to Doha, Qatar I am drawn to one piece of architecture.

Dominated by new wealth, Doha is quickly changing and rebuilding the entire city. I.M. Pei must have sensed the superficial growth of this city when he designed the Museum of Islamic Art. For me his building (or large sculpture) is an anchor for Doha. Even though it sits on a manmade island it avoids the naïve, theme park inspirations of other new buildings and developments in the area. It is a bold structure that uses placement, materials and scale to demand your attention wherever you are in the city. Instead of fighting the sun, like most of the new skyline created of glass and metal, his building uses the sun as a design element. The dynamic play of light and shadow on the exterior continues inside with almost every surface designed to play with the sunlight.

The most inspiring part of the museum was how I.M. Pei successfully fused modern, tradition and culture into one experience. He also achieved a level of refinement and simplicity that is rarely found in wealthy cities. Architecture is usually based on a complex superficiality as demonstrated in the concept for the Alpha Project in Doha.

Doha will be an interesting city to watch over the next decade. It is hard to tell which direction the architecture in the city will go.