On an artificial island in Doha Bay, connected to shore by a narrow causeway, stands a building that looks like an abstract sculpture of sand-colored cubes. This is the Museum of Islamic Art, designed by I.M. Pei — the architect who created the Louvre Pyramid. He was 91 when he took on this project, and he spent months studying Islamic architecture from Spain to India. The result is a building both modern and timeless, and a collection spanning 1,400 years of Islamic civilization.

Pei's Architecture

Island and Building

Pei insisted on a separate island so the building wouldn't be lost among...