South African architect Sumayya Vally has designed a site-specific installation for the inaugural Art Basel Qatar fair in Doha, with moveable components that pay homage to lost communal spaces across the Islamic world.
The installation, titled In the Assembly of Lovers, was informed by traditional social spaces, including the majlis or “sitting places” common in Muslim countries.
Sumayya Vally created an installation based on lost collective spaces for Art Basel Qatar
Occupying a site outside Doha’s M7 creative hub, the installation is described as a kind of modular forum, referencing a variety of these gathering spaces that have been destroyed or damaged over time.
Among them are the courtyards of Córdoba, Spain, the gardens of Gaza and communal spaces in Qatar’s Msheireb district, alongside references to stoop gathering traditions in South Africa.
The installation was titled In the Assembly of Lovers
Archaeological traces in the form of engraved floor plans and layouts evoke the presence of these sites, while furniture objects made from plywood and micro cement resemble parts of the ruined buildings.
Vally‘s Johannesburg-based studio Counterspace designed the sculptural furniture to be moved around during the course of the three-day fair, allowing the space to be reconfigured to facilitate activities ranging from talks and discussions to poetry readings.
It was informed by traditional social spaces, including the majlis common in Muslim countries
“In the Assembly of Lovers is rooted in a longing for collective spaces that have been lost,” Vally said.
“By assembling fragments from places across the Muslim world, the installation gestures toward a shared architectural memory – one that insists on gathering as an act of love, hope and resistance.”
The sculptural furniture was designed to be moved around
Accompanying the architectural installation is an eight-channel sound work intended to immerse the visitor in a multi-sensory experience.
“Becoming a majlis of infinite gathering, we imagine public space in the ritual sense,” Vally said. “A monument as a verb – fluid, temporal and alive, a site that grows through collective presence.”
Sumayya Vally references termite mounds for refugee wellness centre in Kenya
Counterspace applied a similar concept to its design of the 2021 Serpentine Pavilion, which consisted of abstracted elements referencing spaces used by London’s migrant communities.
The installation occupied a site outside Doha’s M7 creative hub
In a series of videos produced by Dezeen that year, Vally explained how Counterspace was born out of a desire to create experimental projects that challenge architectural conventions.
Her previous work includes a design for a wellness centre for refugees in Kenya, as well as a sculptural pedestrian bridge in Belgium informed by a kind of African dugout canoe.
In the Assembly of Lovers was installed as part of Art Basel Qatar, which was held at M7 and the Doha Design District in downtown Msheireb.
The photography is courtesy of Art Basel Qatar.
Art Basel Qatar took place from 5 to 7 February 2026 in various locations across Doha. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.