A FLOATING DOME OF

LIGHT AND SHADE

THE LOUVRE,
ABU DHABI

Sharadhi Katti,
Sem VI, Year III
SPA, Mysuru.
International architect Jean Nouvel is one of the most significant
architects of the last half-century. Inspired by the architecture and
traditions of the United Arab Emirates, Nouvel has conceived a
remarkable home for Louvre Abu Dhabi. This extraordinary architecture
is also a powerful symbol of the nation’s vision and achievements.
Further, the Louvre Abu Dhabi aims to demonstrate how, ultimately, all
civilizations are connected.
The Louvre Abu Dhabi is an art and civilization museum, located in Abu
Dhabi, UAE. The museum was established in the year 2017. The
museum has been in the news since the time of its construction owing to
the uniqueness of the steel dome that spreads over the entire building.
The museum is a part of a thirty-year agreement between the city of Abu
Dhabi and the French government. Artworks from around the world are
showcased at the museum, with particular focus placed upon bridging
the gap between Eastern and Western art.
Located on the Saadiyat island cultural district, the museum is a cluster
of white blocks spreading out beneath the great cupola like scattered
sugar cubes, forming little streets and squares, like a village in the
desert. “I wanted to create a neighbourhood of art, rather than a
building,” says Jean Nouvel. The museum city creates a space that
plays with the multiple connections between indoor and outdoor, ever-
changing and poetic, to kindle curiosity and invite visitors to explore new
routes and pathways, guided by the light. It is conceived as something
between an Arab medina and a Greek agora – a place to meet and talk
about art and life in a context of total serenity. Inspired by the ancient
falaj system of Arab engineering, a water channel runs through the
museum, making the space into a refreshing oasis that encourages
strolling along the water. The museum's roof is perforated to capture
daylight without letting in too much sun.
Architects Ateliers Jean Nouvel
Location Saadiyat Cultural District, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Area 97000.0 m2
Project Year 2017

Since The Louvre Abu Dhabi bears the same name as arguably the
most celebrated institution in France, (Musée du Louvre) and Jean
Nouvel being French, a particular bit of context comes into play. “The
Musée du Louvre was established in a royal palace, with royal
architecture so The Louvre Abu Dhabi is palatial in a very subtle way.”
While designing, Nouvel had The Musée du Louvre in mind as well as
the city of Abu Dhabi, the Arab culture and the awareness of organising
a universal meeting point.
Walking through the interiors, it more closely resembles a village or a
neighbourhood than a conventional museum. This is intentional as
Nouvel linked it to the Medinas of the Arab architecture like the little
buildings within the medina with narrow streets, a play of shadows and
intermediate meeting spaces that encourages interaction among people
and breaks boundaries between the indoors and outdoors. A few walls
also bear inscriptions in Arabic, English and French. The Arabic text was
inspired by passages in books such as Ibn Khaldun’s ‘Muqaddimah’
from the 1300s. Inscribing on buildings is present in Islamic architecture.
This itself serves as a link between art and architecture showcasing the
deep connection between the two fields rooted since ages.

Among the 55 low-lying, angular white buildings, are 23 art galleries,

others house a temporary exhibition space, a children’s museum,
restaurants, a 200-seat auditorium and some retail areas.

The centrepiece of Nouvel’s vision is a huge silvery dome that appears

to float above the entire museum-city. The dome is a complex geometric
structure of 7,850 stars, repeated at various sizes and angles in eight
different layers to create random perforations through which the sun’s
light filters in the dome and create different patterns at different times of
the day with the changing positions of the sun. Thus, the dome is also
known as the ‘rain of light’. Light is one of the major aspects in Nouvel’s
designs. When he built the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris, 30 years
ago, his design for the façade included photo-electrically sensitive
aperture inspired by the traditional Arabian mashrabiyya, a masterful
fusion of the age-old design heritage and modernity.

The ‘rain of light’ that measures 180m in diameter and weighs more than
the Eiffel Tower also takes its inspiration from the palm trees of Abu
Dhabi. Their leaves catch the bright sunlight from above to dapple its
projection onto the ground. Similarly, the light and shadow created in the
interiors of the museum-city creates an inspiring effect within. The
tranquil museum environment inspires visitors to enjoy the ever-
changing relationship between sun, sea, art and architecture. Standing
beneath this vast cosmic dome, with rays of light piercing through its
layers casting dapples across the facades of the white concrete
buildings, you feel transported to another realm. Water laps at the base
of the stone platform, flowing beneath the canopy in reflecting pools that
cool the air and bounce more ripples of light back into the space.
Beyond being beautiful, the silvery dome also acts as a shading canopy
to protect the outdoor plaza and the buildings below from the heat of the
sun. The museum creates a comfortable microclimate with culturally
inspired passive-design techniques based on traditional Arab
architecture.

The dome has a floating effect visually. This effect is achieved by resting
the dome on 4 large piers spaced at 110m which are hidden within the
museum building. This creates a sense of balance visually. Also, the
dome is where the emphasis falls on. But it would not have been
possible if the rest of the structure didn’t complement it. Though different
materials are used for the building and the dome (concrete, steel and
aluminium) they are harmoniously creating the desired effect.

Nouvel was also deeply involved with the interiors of the museum –
having designed furniture for the restaurant and café, as well as the
auditorium; the last is a stunning study in contrasts, all dark details
where the rest of the museum village is about light. In the galleries, he
even designed the display cases as he believes that the display cases
trap the artwork and the aura of the artwork is lost. He says that “the
placement of objects in space is important; it’s like a music composition.
We’ve gone geometrical, very light, just to accentuate the rhythm of the
place and the hierarchy of the objects. The cases aren’t totally glass so
they disappear, we’ve accented the edges. And they are large; the
objects can breathe. This composition of the showcases is
complementary with the larger architecture.”

Nouvel has given importance to the essence of a museum – its art and
incorporated that with the architecture to accentuate the rhythm of the
place. Linking the modern architecture to what has been done previously
(old wine in a new bottle) and is native to the Arab land has resulted in a
holistic design. Nouvel says he envisioned the museum in a state of
evolution, translating as a flexible design, like a city, ever growing!