Preserving an iconic heritage building

The restoration of the Old Palace will allow visitors to experience a traditional way of life that is rapidly becoming extinct amid the expansion of the last decade, an architect involved in the project has said.

“The conservation and rehabilitation of the Palace will form the focal point of the new National Museum of Qatar, adhering to international standards of conservation,” observed Sylvain Rocher from Ziegert | Roswag | Seiler (ZRS) Architekten Ingenieure.

He was giving a presentation at the Revival of the Old Palace Conference yesterday. The Berlin-based company has prepared the design and operational studies for the restoration of the Old Palace under the supervision of Qatar Museums Authority’s Restoration and Conservation Section.

The Old Palace of Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim al-Thani, who ruled Qatar from 1913 to 1949, was built in 1901. It was the Emiri Palace as well as the home of Sheikh Abdullah until the late 1920s when he moved to a new palace.

The Old Palace was restored in 1970s to form part of the now closed Qatar National Museum, which in 1980 won the Agha Khan award for restoration and rehabilitation of Islamic architecture.

“The rehabilitation of the building is being done within its old fabric, without the use of air conditioning. Original material from the 1920s will be conserved and protected by all means,” Rocher explained.

The decorative and constructive elements from the 1970s, when a restoration took place, will be kept as far as possible. Concrete elements installed in the 1970s have aged badly and require restoration work.

The buildings will be rehabilitated respecting the different layers of the history.

Elements exhibiting non-repairable damage or inappropriate construction will be replaced appropriately. Principle of renewal follows ancient traditions as far as new technologies or materials are constructively not required.

Extensive research also revealed some unknown facts about the Old Palace. Some historic photographs alerted the ZRS team about the existence of gates. Based on the finding, they planned new gates.

Close examination of historic photos indicates that the complex was split into seven smaller courtyards serving various functions.

Input from conservation, wood and material experts is also supporting the restoration work. Samples analysed by specialist laboratory equipment enabled identification and recreation of historic material accurately.

The master-masons of India’s Hunnar Shaala Foundation for Building Technology and Innovations conducted a workshop with the QMA team with regard to building of dimensionally accurate limestone masonry.

“The success of this project will set the benchmark for current and future restoration works,” stated Adel al-Mosalamani, head of QMA’s Restoration and Conservation Section, which is providing the technicians, workers and restoration specialists, as well as required tools and materials.

“Through its projects, the Restoration and Conservation section seeks to preserve Qatari heritage and national identity by maintaining the heritage buildings with all their decorative and artistic elements that reflect their unique architectural aspect, and restoring them to be used in future cultural and touristic events and activities,” he added.