The Abu Dhabi

The is located on Saadiyat Island in the UAE. It is expected to open on UAE National Day 2015 and become one of the most significant new museums in the world. Abu Dhabi has made a thirty year agreement with the French Government to supply art for the museum. When completed, this collection will also be supported by three other new museums: the future Guggenheim Modern Art Museum, the , and a maritime (sailing and shipping) museum.

The original Louvre Museum is in , . The Louvre in Paris opened in 1793 with an exhibition of 537 paintings. Now it is one of the world’s largest museums with over 35,000 pieces of art, covering 60,600 square meters. The Louvre is a major tourist attraction, receiving approximately 9.7 million visitors every year, with 65% of these visitors being foreign tourists. This makes the Louvre the most visited museum in the world. The museum’s enormous collection includes valuable works of art from ancient Greece and Rome, Islamic cultures, and European artists. The most popular work of art in the Louvre is the Mona Lisa, a The Mona Lisa painting by Leonardo da Vinci. On average about 20,000 people come to view it every day!

When the Louvre Abu Dhabi is completed, it will cover approximately 24,000 square meters. The permanent collection will occupy 6,000 m2 and the temporary (or changing) exhibitions will cover over 2,000 m2. The final cost is expected to be about 500 million dirhams. In addition, Abu Dhabi paid $525 million to be associated with the Louvre name, and an additional $747 million for art loans, special exhibitions or events, and management advice.

The Louvre Abu Dhabi was designed by , a French architect. Nouvel had previously designed the Arab World Institute (AWI) building in Paris. The AWI aims to share information about the cultural and spiritual values of Arab people with the citizens of . Nouvel’s AWI design was very well received by his clients; therefore, in the Abu Dhabi project, he was confident that he could create a building that would please both France and the UAE.

UAEU Foundation Program. L2 Integrated Skills – Final Exam Preview Reading – Spring 2014

The design of the Louvre Abu Dhabi is absolutely unique. Jean Nouvel successfully combines modern architecture with traditional influences from the region. The large outer rooms are irregularly shaped, representing a medina with narrow, winding streets. In contrast, the center of the building has large square-shaped rooms to emphasize the art. One ambitious feature is the transparent, or see-through, roof. According to Nouvel, “the effect will represent sunlight passing through date palms in an oasis.” Construction of the Louvre Abu Dhabi foundations began on 26th May 2009. The main part of the museum was started in early 2013; and on the 5th December 2013, the first part of the enormous roof was lifted into place.

It takes more than one architect to create a construction of this huge size, and so building the Louvre has given many local professionals opportunities to develop their skills. One of these is Mahra Al Shaya, a 27 year old architect from Sharjah. She is managing many of the important stages of the museum’s construction; helping to take the design from imagination to reality. Ms. Al Shaya regularly meets with the building’s architects, engineers and builders. It is her responsibility to make sure that the design meets financial targets and is completed on time. “I’m responsible for monitoring the design very closely and seeing how it is being delivered. It’s like watching a small baby growing, you become so attached to it,” explains Ms. Al Shaya. “As an architect, I always imagine myself walking in these spaces and I’m really looking forward to seeing Mahra Al Shaya them for real.”

When completed, artwork from around the world will be displayed in the museum. However, it will have a particular emphasis on the connection between Eastern and Western art, and contain a major collection of Middle Eastern Art. The museum website explains that the “ambitious project is to be a place of discovery, exchange and education. It is intended to play an important social role in the United Arab Emirates.” The final goal is to create a varied collection, not just for public display, but also for scientific study.

It is evident that the Louvre Abu Dhabi is going to have significant financial and social impacts in the region, and is a major investment in the future of the UAE.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louvre_Abu_Dhabi (May 2014) http://www.thenational.ae/uae/tourism/from-architects-vision-to-reality Mahra AlShaya photo: Silvia Razgova, The National

UAEU Foundation Program. L2 Integrated Skills – Final Exam Preview Reading – Spring 2014