Hidden Museum in the Desert

A giant sand dune is going to be home to the new Museum of Modern Arab Art in Doha, Qatar. From a distance, it just looks like another pile of sand, like thousands of others in the desert. Upon closer inspection, it becomes apparent that the dune isn’t quite what it seems.

Architect Rafael Viñoly designed the museum to blend seamlessly with its environment. In a possible reference to historic Bedouin tents, Viñoly has used a sand-colored stretched canvas-like material to cover the 350,000 square foot space.

This camouflaged building will house Sheikh Hassan Bin Mohammed Al-Thani’s large collection of Arab art dating from the early Qur’anic period to modern times. And, you’ll find plenty of other treasures to explore at the MOMAA. The collection includes 5,000 paintings, 700 antiques, sculptures, metalwork, ceramics, a calligraphy section, photography and more. The museum is scheduled to be finished by 2011.

Via:  Jaunted

Eero Saarinen

There’s a lot of great Eero Saarinen action right here in the United States, but he didn’t limit his works to the states. One example of his adventures overseas is the Embassy of the United States in London that sits in Grosvenor Square. Finished in 1960, it’s one of the largest American diplomatic offices in the world.

The building consists of nine stories, with three of them below ground. The facility is topped with a gilded aluminum Bald Eagle with a wingspan of more than 35 feet. Besides the US embassy in Japan, the London post is the only one situated on land not owned by the American government. Let’s just hope the United Kingdom doesn’t get any ideas.

Besides handing out visas and other paperwork, the building is traditionally used as the setting for announcing any agreements between the UK and US. Maybe you’ll even get to visit on your next trip to London after spending a little too much time at the pub and getting belligerent in the streets!

Via: Jaunted

[Photo: Wikimedia]