Msheireb Museums: Transforming Doha's Heritage Houses

This book documents the story of the creation of the Msheireb Museums in the heart of Qatar s capital, Doha a bonding of history and modernity in what is probably the city s most architecturally and commercially innovative development. The Msheireb Museums form a historical grouping that is entirely unique four traditional courtyard houses whose museum contents reflect their original histories. They are outstanding examples of the enduring continuity and meaning of history in a city which is otherwise a place of rapid change; a place where, in a century s time, even the Downtown Msheireb area will itself be regarded as historic. The coverage here emphasises the importance of conserving the history embedded in the structures and materials of significant traditional buildings. It also explains how the conservation of these buildings, and the design of their new elements, were actually achieved. Transforming Doha s Heritage Houses is a kind of database a sharing of knowledge that will become increasingly important, not only to younger Qataris, but to city planners and conservationists in other parts of the region.