Zayed National Museum

Overlooking the museum’s atrium, the Research Library is oriented toward the Magan Boat as a constant visual presence. The spaces draw on Bedouin material heritage, with raw wool, dark timber, and metal creating a tactile, grounded environment. Custom coffee tables and carpets, finished with hand-crafted tarbushes, create a setting for both focused research and informal exchange.

The Research Library adopts a striking opposition of black and white with unruly strands of wool used for the sofa system and the feature Nomad chair; a palette of metals, derived from stacked pots used to serve shared dishes, their patina culminating in deep red colour of a hearth, echoing the visual economy of Bedouin tents and tools.

In one of the museum’s atriums, the studio designed a modular seating system conceived as a near-infrastructural element. Rather than acting as furniture in the conventional sense, the system is calibrated to the scale of the space, dissolving into the architecture while enabling flexible use for pause, gathering, and informal meeting.

The Al Shaheen Lobby is defined by a large modular Bead Bench set on a custom Jamal carpet, leading into the majlis, where guests are welcomed with gahwa. The spaces are formal in structure but welcoming in character, establishing a sense of hospitality without unnecessary formality.

The design of Al Hurr 2 majlis, is informed by the most intense period of heat in Al Drour calendar, Al Qaith. Warm, saturated tones and a more concentrated palette define the space, accompanied by artwork that subtly recalls the hazy atmosphere of the desert during peak summer conditions.

Al Sheta, the colder season in al Drour calendar is marked by rainfall and the brief blooming of desert shrubs. This is reflected through cooler, muted tones, layered textiles, and materials that evoke softness and seasonal change.

Execution was treated as a curatorial and research-led process. Agata Kurzela studio conducted extensive prototyping, material trials, and full-scale mock-ups, working closely with local workshops and regional craftspeople.

Wool trials moved between raw fleece, washing, boiling, and spinning, drawing from different fleeces and testing against the museum’s existing material palette to tune colour, density, and tactile character.