26 high-profile names have been selected from a field of nearly 500 as the architectural elite battle it out for the chance to convert a flour mill in Qatar into an art gallery.

The three-stage Doha Art Mill development had 489 entries total from 56 different countries across five continents, with Renzo Piano, David Chipperfield and Atelier among the 26 names on the long-list.

Selected on the basis of two illustrated statements, the 26 architects must now come up with design proposals for the site, following which, a shortlist of five will be selected in early 2016, with the winner being announced by the end of the first quarter.

Qatar Museum wants to convert the disused mill into a focal point for its cultural institution, which is located at the eastern end of Doha’s waterfront promenade. The brief also calls for extensive education, conference and event space, as well as a state-of-the-art storage and conservation facility to house the art. In addition to the mill, the area includes the existing Museum of Islamic Art by IM Pei and the under-construction National Museum of Qatar by Jean Nouvel.

The full list of architects shortlisted includes:

ábalos + sentkiewicz

adam khan architectsaires mateus e associados

arab engineering bureauatelier bow-wow

barozzi / veigadavid chipperfield architects

EAA emre arolat architectseduardo souto de moura architects

elementalgrupo aranea

heneghan peng architectsjohnston marklee

junya.ishigami + associateslacaton & vassal

mangado architects_mangado & associadosmiralles tagliabue EMBT

nieto sobejano arquitectosnoero architects and the matrix… cc urban designers and architects

OFFICE kersten geers david van severen + l’AUCpatkau architects

project meganomrenzo piano building workshop

rice+lipka architectsSO-IL

sou fujimoto architects