Soho Properties’ CEO Sharif El-Gamal commissioned French architect Jean Nouvel to design the Islam Museum on a site the company purchased on 49-51 Park Place for $10.7 million, Archinect reports.
According to Curbed New York, industry professionals had previously expressed doubt that El-Gamal would find it easy to find people to collaborate with, especially that a “certain faction of people remains vocally opposed to the idea of a Muslim anything being built in Lower Manhattan.”
Nouvel, a Pritzker Prize-winning architect educated at Paris’ École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, has had extensive experience designing using cues from Islamic World art, such as the critically acclaimed Arab World Institute in Paris and the Louvre Abu Dhabi.
Related Stories
| Jul 20, 2012
Office Report: Fitouts, renovations keep sector moving
BD+C's Giants 300 Top 25 AEC Firms in the Office sector.
| Jul 20, 2012
K-12 Schools Report: ‘A lot of pent-up need,’ with optimism for ’13
The Giants 300 Top 25 AEC Firms in the K-12 Schools Sector.
| Jul 20, 2012
Higher education market holding steady
But Giants 300 University AEC Firms aren’t expecting a flood of new work.
| Jul 20, 2012
3 important trends in hospital design that Healthcare Giants are watching closely
BD+C’s Giants 300 reveals top AEC firms in the healthcare sector.
| Jul 20, 2012
Global boom for hotels; for retail, not so much
The Giants 300 Top 10 Firms in the Hospitality and Retail sectors.
| Jul 20, 2012
Gensler, Stantec, Turner lead ‘green’ firms
The Top 10 AEC Firms in Green Buildings and LEED Accredited Staff.
| Jul 19, 2012
Renovation resurgence cuts across sectors
Giants 300 reconstruction sector firms ‘pumping fresh blood in tired spaces.’
| Jul 19, 2012
Rental market pushing service, ‘community’
The Top 25 Giants 300 AEC firms in the Multifamily Sector keep four-legged tenants in mind.
| Jul 19, 2012
AEC firms ready to dive into public projects
But the size of the pool keeps shrinking for the Top 25 AEC firms in the Government Sector.