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 architects
aires mateus e associados
arab engineering bureau
atelier bow-wow
barozzi / veiga
david chipperfield architects
EAA emre arolat architects
eduardo souto de moura architects
elemental
grupo aranea
heneghan peng architects
johnston marklee
junya.ishigami + associates
lacaton & vassal
mangado architects_mangado & associados
miralles tagliabue EMBT
nieto sobejano arquitectos
noero architects and the matrix… cc urban designers and architects
OFFICE kersten geers david van severen + l’AUC
patkau architects
project meganom
renzo piano building workshop
rice+lipka architects
SO-IL
sou fujimoto architects