mathaf: arab museum of modern art in doha announces expansion by lina ghotmeh

A campus expansion to take shape in Doha

Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art in Doha has announced a major campus expansion led by architect Lina Ghotmeh. The project coincides with the museum’s fifteenth anniversary and signals a shift toward a broader role that joins exhibition with making, research, and gathering.

The expansion begins at ground level, where a redesigned lobby and library introduce a new social threshold to the museum. Conceived as a majlis-inspired space, the open plan is organized around modular furniture elements that support reading, conversation, and public programs while remaining adaptable over time. Ghotmeh’s ongoing work for Qatar also includes the first permanent national pavilion in the Giardini of La Biennale di Venezia, announced earlier this year (see designboom’s coverage here).

Mathaf announces a major campus expansion in Doha | visualizations © Lina Ghotmeh

lina ghotmeh’s library, café, and atrium

With the ground-level phase, architect Lina Ghotmeh establishes the tone for the wider expansion of Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art. The library brings together art publications from the region alongside museum and Qatar Museums titles, forming a space that encourages lingering and return visits. A café and expanded book and gift shop extend the sequence, allowing the ground floor to function as a daily point of entry for the campus.

New visual landmarks within the atrium reinforce the museum’s civic presence. A large-scale portrait by Yan Pei-Ming joins earlier commissions dedicated to Qatar’s leadership, situating the renewed interior within the institution’s ongoing narrative while framing the atrium as a place of gathering.

the Arab Museum marks its fifteenth anniversary with a reconfigured ground floor

upcoming plans range from displays to makers’ spaces

Future phases extend beyond the existing building footprint, transforming the current plaza and adjacent service areas into purpose-built studios for artists and designers. Facilities for ceramics will support large-scale production through shared work areas and specialized equipment developed with practicing artists. Spaces dedicated to glass, woodworking, and material experimentation will sit alongside a sound studio shaped through collaboration with composer and artist Tarek Atoui.

Together, these environments form the basis of a new residency program that positions the Arab Museum as a site of sustained practice. Exhibitions tied to the anniversary program, including interventions by Atoui and Gabriel Chaile, preview how making, research, and display will coexist across the campus.

a majlis-inspired library introduces flexible spaces for reading and gathering

a unified design language

Across the site, Lina Ghotmeh’s approach emphasizes continuity and material presence. Existing warehouses will be adapted into studios through a consistent architectural skin that brings coherence to varied volumes. This curtain-like envelope mediates light and scale while giving the campus a legible identity from afar.

At ground level, a continuous earthen surface will link buildings and outdoor spaces through a landscape attuned to regional climate conditions. The expansion reframes Mathaf as an active environment for learning and production, extending the institution’s mission through architecture that supports daily use, long stays, and evolving forms of artistic work.

a new café and bookshop extend the museum daily life beyond exhibitions