Jean Nouvel's Louvre in Abu Dhabi

By: Ehsaan Mesghali

Construction began on the Abu Dhabi branch of the Louvre designed by the famed French architect Jean Nouvel in mid 2009. With a scheduled opening in the later part of 2012, talk of its design is always stirring in architectural circles. The project is a joint effort between the governments of France and Abu Dhabi, ideas of cultural harmony and understanding are evident from its very initiation.

The museum campus, which covers a whopping 260,000 square feet, is comprised of pavilions, plazas, canals and alleyways all covered by a over arcing umbrella dome 590 feet in diameter. One can’t help but think of the great domes of the most marvelous masajed of the Middle East, a clear celebration of local traditions in form. But this dome takes it a step further. The official reports explain it as “a key design element of the Louvre Abu Dhabi…180 meters in diameter, floating above a cluster of buildings and waterways. Perforated by interlaced patterns, the dome will let a diffused light filter magically into the spaces below.”

Jean Nouvel built various large-scale prototypes to illustrate the aura of the design and several life-sized sections that act with the sun to sell the design to both the French and Abu Dhabi counsels. The prototype was also partly a design tool, with various patterns and overlays constantly being tested to obtain the desired level of perforation.

Museum designs come and go, but what is most important, as a designer, is to understand the underlying social mission of a new building, rest assured no project of this scale and magnitude is void of one. The underlying message is revealed quite simply in the foundation of the project: arguably the most prominent collectors of human culture (the Louvre) have decided to allow for a branch to take their name in the Muslim world. Granted the estimated cost for the naming rights was upwards of half a billion dollars, it’s still a major step towards achieving some kind of global harmony through one thing that unites us all, the arts.

Above this layer is a deeper social endeavor taken up by Jean Nouvel himself, “In Abu Dhabi it was important to make the museum a public space beyond the museum building itself, so I did something I always wanted to do, make the museum part of the city, not just a building, for me it is a neighborhood, a place where you can come and stay.” When one thinks of the Louvre, they don’t think of a place to have a picnic, or meet some friends. It’s a refined institution of housing the most precious artifacts of our past in securely locked gates of steel. There is no doubt that this idea was highly criticized on an executive level, but once again, the starchitect remains victorious.

The plan exhibits a free flowing movement of varying solids intertwined with narrow and wide passages of water, very reminiscent of the venetian canals. A certain osmosis is encouraged as the campus hosts hundreds different entrances and exits, with every edge open to people meandering in and out, much like a public park. With all this lack of definition perhaps the introduction of the unifying dome was more than just a shading element, rather a way to bring the whole project together with some kind of datum or reference. The exact nature of the dome is perhaps the most promising characteristic of the project for those in search of nostalgia. Nouvel explains as follows:

“…and I put all of this [the neighborhood] in a sort of micro-climate protected by a big umbrella. Finally I played with the arrangement of the perforations in the dome’s layers. It creates a cinematic effect with a well of light that rains down on the spaces below. For me it evokes the rays of light that go through the boards in the souks that are protected from the light.”

It’s a magical idea. As you stroll through a bazaar or souk you can’t help but notice the shimmering streaks of light escaping through the cracks in the roof as they catch the dust circling in the air. Nouvel took this beautiful play of light and based his entire roof system on it. Others have also equated the idea to rays of light filtering through the canopy of a desert palm oasis. Coupled with this idea of selective light, the dome is also heavily influenced by Islamic geometrical patterning, with various layers of overlapping designs sitting on top of each other to result in the small slivers of light escaping the dome and making it down to ground level.

The collection to be hosted in the building is rumored to be a joint loan from various French museums including but not limited to the Louvre Archive, the Musée d’Orsay, le Centre Pompidou, the Musée de Quai Branly and the Musée Guimet. In addition, the center will exhibit work from its own developing collection independent of the Parisian Louvre.

Similar to the other various cultural monuments that are springing up in the Persian Gulf region, a new trend of cross-cultural exchange is in the air. Hopefully the Louvre in Abu Dhabi is just the tipping point.

All Images Courtesy Jean Nouvel