The long-awaited Louvre Abu Dhabi, designed by Ateliers Jean Nouvel, is getting ready for a grand opening. Construction started in 2009, and new images of the metal-domed building were posted to Twitter by French ambassador to the UAE Ludovic Pouille following his recent trip to Abu Dhabi. They show the building’s 7,700-ton dome, as well as some of the interior gallery spaces, and the concrete steps leading to the site’s waterfront position. The ambassador was given a private tour of the museum, noting he was “amazed by progress made by great teams working 24/7."

According to Vincent Noce of The Art Newspaper, sources have confirmed that the museum will open its doors between 11 November and 2 December 2017. Ten years will have passed between the first mention of the museum and its inauguration.

According to Noce, all that remains to be done is to test the security systems and its stability. More than 300 loans from French museums will be transported to Abu Dhabi, with the museum’s permanent collection numbering more than 700 objects.

Many French museums have contributed to the collections including the Centre Pompidou, the Grand Palais and Musée d’Orsay. “Eventually”, explained Manuel Rabaté to Le Figaro in 2014, “the number of loans will diminish and the permanent collection will increase. That is the spirit of the intergovernmental agreement between Abu Dhabi and France”.

The design was inspired by the traditional Emirati roofs of thatched palm leaves, the iconic dome 'hovering' above the museum-city is a complex, geometric structure of 7,850 unique stars, repeated at various sizes and angles in eight different layers. As the sun passes through these perforations in the dome it creates an inspiring, cinematic effect called the 'rain of light'. This showering of light on the galleries and visitors underneath it.

Pouille says: "It is a calm and complex place. A contrast of a series of museums cultivating 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 590 feet (180 meters) in diameter, flat, perfect radiating geometry, randomly perforated woven material, creating a shadow 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."

Apart from the Museum Galleries, visitors may also reflect within the promenades or explore outstanding temporary exhibitions in a dedicated space, a children’s museum, auditorium, café, restaurant, and museum shops.

For more information visit Louvre Abu Dhabi.

See also:

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