The Louvre Abu Dhabi Museum in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates by Ateliers Jean Nouvel
The Louvre Abu Dhabi Museum, designed by Ateliers Jean Nouvel, aims at creating a welcoming world which associates lights and shadows as well as shimmers and calm places in a serene atmosphere. Its objective is to belong to its country, to its history, to its geography, avoiding being either a dull translation of this reality or a pleonasm meaning boredom and convention. It also aims at emphasizing the fascination generated by rare encounters.
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The project is based on one of the major symbols of Arabic architecture: the Cupola. But here, it is a modern proposal made evident by its obvious gap with tradition. The dome is doubled and flat with a 180-meter diameter, offering a perfect luminous geometry drilled in a more random weaved material which creates a shadow punctuated with sun bursts. It shines in the sun of Abu Dhabi. At night, the protected landscape turns into a haven of light under a star-spangled cupola.
