Qatar National Library, Doha Institutional Building Development, Qatar Educational Architecture, Images
Qatar National Library in Doha
Public Institutional Building Development in Qatar – design by OMA
17 Apr 2018
Qatar National Library in Doha
Architects: OMA
Location: Doha, Qatar
Qatar National Library

photo © Iwan Baan
The physical impact of books has been important in terms of my entire formation. The first books that fascinated me were the fairy tales of Grim illustrated by Gustave Doré. I still remember the physical nature of those books as one of the strongest memories of my entire life. In the 1950s I would spend time in the library of the Stedelijk Museum ? almost like in a living room.

photo © Iwan Baan My first intersection of writing and architecture was Delirious New York, which I wrote in the New York Public Library, going through microfilms, old newspapers, and books. I made one particular seat my own, almost day and night.

By Delfino Sisto Legnani and Marco Cappelletti © OMA
One similarity between architecture and bookmaking is that both have unbelievably long traditions but are also forced to be of the moment, constantly updating in order to survive. We have designed many libraries and built a few. Libraries, as a typology, are so exceptionally suitable to produce radical architecture. Apparently, there is a paradox that such a traditional form produces inventive solutions, and that is the case for the Qatar National Library.

By De...