Zaha Hadid Architects designed a new museum of contemporary art for the Kingdom of Bahrain. The new complex will house exhibition spaces for permanent and temporary collections, multi-event auditorium, education facilities, studios for artists at residence, and retail areas. The project is estimated to be completed by 2012 and was funded by the Cultural and National Heritage Sector of Bahrain.

The enigmatic volume emerges from a narrow coastal land stripe at the Gulf of Bahrain. Describing a gentle curve while gradually rising from the ground a volume is formed that bends slightly and reaches over the water towards Manama. The building appears mystically floating above a coastal landscape. Public fields flow around the sculptural mass of the museum, underlining its presence with curvy-linear lines echoing the contours of the volume. The overall dynamism and fluidity of the elongated form support the emphasis on movement through and around the museum.