by Ateliers Jean Nouvel / Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
The museum and the sea
All climates like exceptions. Warmer when it is cold. Cooler in the tropics. People do not resist thermal shock well. Nor do works of art. Such elementary observations have influenced the Louvre Abu Dhabi. It wishes to create a welcoming world serenely combining light and shadow, reflection and calm. It wishes to belong to a country, to its history, to its geography without becoming a flat translation, the pleonasm that results in boredom and convention. It also aims at emphasizing the fascination generated by rare encounters. It is rather unusual to find a built archipelago in the sea. It is even more uncommon to see that it is protected by a parasol creating a rain of light. The possibility of accessing the museum by boat or finding a pontoon to reach it by foot from the shore is equally extraordinary, before being welcomed like a much-awaited visitor willing to see unique collections, linger in tempting bookstores, or taste local teas, coffees and delicacies. It is both a calm and complex place. A contrast amongst a series of museums that cultivate their differences and their authenticities. It is a project founded on a major symbol of Arab architecture: the dome. But here, with its evident shift from tradition, the dome is a modern proposal. A double dome 180 meters in diameter, offering horizontal, perfectly radiating geometry, a randomly perforated woven material, providing shade punctuated by bursts of sun. The dome gleams in the Abu Dhabi sunshine. At night, this protected landscape is an oasis of light under a starry dome. The Louvre Abu Dhabi becomes the final destination of an urban promenade, a garden on the coast, a cool haven, a shelter of light during the day and evening, its aesthetic consistent with its role as a sanctuary for the most precious works of art. Status Finalised Dates 2006 - 2017 Clients Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC) Types of assignment Commission, Full mission, Interior design, Museography Program Permanent exhibition galleries, temporary exhibition galleries, children’s museum, auditorium, storage, conservation building, restoration workshops, public spaces, administration building, restaurant, café, retails
Surface area: 97,000 m²
Photography: Mohamed Somji & Roland Halbe
Clients
Agence France-Muséums (AFM)Team
Jean NOUVEL – Ateliers Jean Nouvel
PARTNER ARCHITECT: Hala WARDÉ (HW architecture – Paris, FR)
PROJECT LEADERS:
Architecture, Interior design, Museography: Jean-François BOURDET, Anna UGOLINI
Design: Sabrina LETOURNEUR, Frédéric IMBERT
Construction: Damien FARAUT, Athina FARAUT
SENIOR ARCHITECTS: Rolando RODRIGUEZ-LEAL, Mireia SALA FONT, Anne TRABAND, Michal TREDER, Natalia WRZASK
ARCHITECTS:
Concept: Raphaël RENARD, Reda SLAOUI, Youssef TOHME, Qiang ZOU
Design Development: Roula AKIKI, Alessandro BALDUCCI, Camille DAUTY, Mark DAVIS, Stacy EISENBERG, Marion FOUCAULT, Steven FUHRMAN, Virginie HECKLE, Stéphanie MENEM, Miguel REYES, Reda SLAOUI, Kathryn STUTTS, Jordi VINYALS, Sébastien YEOU
Construction: Mariam ABUEBEID, Sara AL SAWI, Kelly ANASTASSIOU, Donna ASHRAF, Daniella DE ALMEIDA, Fay EL MUTWALLI, Steven FUHRMAN, Maryam HOSNY, Zaina KHAYYAT, Stéphanie MENEM, Youmna NAJJAR, Miguel REYES
Interior design: Floriane ABELLO, Lucas DUMON, Isabella GARBAGNATI, Jaiyao HUANG, Tanguy NGUYEN, François ZAB
COMPUTER RENDERINGS: Artefactory (Eric ANTON), Jugulta LE CLERRE (HW), Clément OUDIN (AJN), Raphaël RENARD (AJN)
GRAPHIC DESIGN: Rafaëlle ISHKINAZI, Marie MAILLARD, Léo GRUNSTEIN, Clovis VALLOIS
MODEL: Jean-Louis COURTOIS
ARTISTIC COMMISSIONS: Giuseppe PENONE, Jenny HOLZER
ARCHITECT OF RECORD: Pascall + Watson
SUPERVISING ARCHITECT: KEO International Consultants
ENGINEERS: ARUP (Concept design), BuroHappold, Transsolar (Schematic design), Andrew SNALUNE (Facade), BuroHappold (Construction)
Consultants
Renaud PIERARD – AJN (Museography), Philippe APELOIG, Kristian SARKIS (Graphic design), 8’18” (Lighting design), dUCKS scéno (scenography, multimedia), Michel DESVIGNE, Jean-Claude HARDY (Landscape), Eric NESPOULOUS – Jean Nouvel Design (Interior design), Studio DAP (Acoustics), MDA Consulting (Cost consultant), Setec (Seismic)
Photography: Mohamed Somji & Roland Halbe
