Qasr al Muwaiji Research Center and Museum

The as yet unimplemented second phase of the project includes a research centre to be built immediately outside the Fort, but contiguous to it, carefully integrated within the surrounding date palm grove. An open ground floor offers a seamless extension of the landscape, while an upper story with library, reading rooms, classrooms and offices is hidden within the canopy of the trees. A multi-use auditorium, cafe, bookstore, temporary exhibit space and archives is concealed underground in a lower story. The center of the complex is dominated by a dramatic three-story atrium that serves as a multi-use assembly space for outdoor activities year-round, and is embellished with vertically planted walls, a shade canopy and a wood deck suspended over a reflecting pool. This space, on axis with the Fort Palace, is anchored at the opposite end by a full-height glass tower that houses research archive materials.

The complex offers uninterrupted access to a vast garden set under the continuous canopy of the trees, and includes a range of amenities such as fountains, pedestrian plazas and shaded parking. The date palm grove itself is preserved as a working plantation, and is fed by an active and decorative falaj system to recall the traditional farming practice.