One of the region’s most highly anticipated openings, the Louvre Abu Dhabi is gearing up for completion, reaching two landmark moments this month. The construction site’s partition walls, originally constructed to keep water away from the building works, have now been removed, allowing for the sea to flood in and occupy its rightful place in the design. Meanwhile, the museum’s iconic dome has been illuminated for very first time.
Celebrated French architect Jean Nouvel is behind the new museum’s striking design; he envisioned the building as a ‘museum city’ in the sea, seamlessly blending water and dry land. And while the construction site needed to be protected while major foundation and building works took place, the project is now ready to move to its next step. The protection walls’ removal is set to take place in three stages over the next few weeks.
At the same time, installation of some 4,500 lights on the structure’s impressive dome, which was designed to reference the region’s traditional architecture, has also been completed. This is set to produce a permanent lighting effect that will illuminate the structure across both day and night. The 180m wide dome now covers the majority of the 'city', which comprises some 55 separate buildings.
Light and water are two of Nouvel's key design elements, set to create a dual visual effect the Pritzker Prize-winning architect calls a ‘rain of light’ in the interiors.
Upon completion, the Louvre will be a key element of the Saadiyat Cultural District on Saadiyat Island – the country’s major culture and arts hub, that also includes the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi by Frank Gehry and the Zayed National Museum by Foster + Partners.
Some 4,500 lights have been installed on the structure’s dome, designed to reference the region’s traditional architecture. This is set to produce a permanent lighting effect that will illuminate the structure across both day and night.
INFORMATION
For more information, visit Ateliers Jean Nouvel’s website
-
The world’s most exclusive auto show? The Quail is now a hotspot of high-end car launchesThe Quail, A Motorsports Gathering brings a few thousand well-heeled car buyers to a Californian golf course to showcase the latest in luxury and sporting auto design
-
Why everyone in LA is talking about Café TondoHelmed by chef Valeria Velásquez and designed by Aunt Studio, this new spot delivers Latin American buzz all day long
-
Inside the Waldorf Astoria's dazzling restoration, from cigar smoke to snowy owlsHow a team of architects from SOM and a group of art conservationists brought New York's grand dame back to her original Art Deco splendor
-
George Lucas’ otherworldly Los Angeles museum is almost finished. Here’s a sneak peekArchitect Ma Yansong walks us through the design of the $1 billion Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, set to open early next year
-
The great American museum boomNine of the world’s top ten most expensive, recently announced cultural projects are in the US. What is driving this investment, and is this statistic sustainable?
-
A Venice sneak peek into the new Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain by Jean NouvelA new home for Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain by Jean Nouvel will open later this year in Paris; in the meantime, the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025 offered the perfect platform for a sneak preview of what's to come
-
The Yale Center for British Art, Louis Kahn’s final project, glows anew after a two-year closureAfter years of restoration, a modernist jewel and a treasure trove of British artwork can be seen in a whole new light
-
You’ll soon be able to get a sneak peek inside Peter Zumthor’s LACMA expansionBut you’ll still have to wait another year for the grand opening
-
NYC's The New Museum announces an OMA-designed extensionOMA partners including Rem Koolhas and Shohei Shigematsu are designing a new building for Manhattan's only dedicated contemporary art museum
-
Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain unveils plans for new Jean Nouvel buildingFondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain has plans for a new building in Paris, working with architect Jean Nouvel
-
Gulbenkian Foundation's new art centre by Kengo Kuma is light and invitingLisbon's Gulbenkian Foundation reveals its redesign and new contemporary art museum, Centro de Arte Moderna (CAM), by Kengo Kuma with landscape architects VDLA
