The National Museum of Qatar – expected to become one of the princedom's most striking landmarks – will open its doors in March 2019.

Designed by Pritzker award-winning architect Jean Nouvel and constructed by ASTAD Project Management, the new 40,000sq m building will be located on Doha Bay and encircle the recently refurbished old palace of Qatar’s founding father, Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim Al-Thani.

The museum, which has been in development since 2015 and will be shaped like a desert rose to "symbolize the mysteries of the desert’s concretions and crystallisations", will feature a 220-seat auditorium, research centre, food court, cafe, retail shops, restaurants, and multiple laboratories.

The main edifice will also be surrounded by a 115,000sq m park and artificial lagoon.

Commenting on the museum’s artistic and educational value, Jean Nouvel called it a "modern-day caravanserai" that would unveil hidden and evolving aspects of the region’s seven millennia-old cultural history.

Describing it as "iconic" and "futuristic", Sheikha Al-Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, chairwoman of Qatar Museums said the building would "perfectly complement" the Thani palace.