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Pages 26 and 27: Louvre Abu Dhabi by Atelier Jean Nouvel, 2017
© Department of Culture and Tourism. Photo: Mohamed Somji

light and attenuate the torrid heat of the region thanks Bellini, Jordaens, Manet, Gauguin, Rodin, Picas-
to its “weave” that references the geometric patterns so, Magritte, Klee, Twombly, and Ai Weiwei come to
of the most venerable local tradition. It becomes a ce- terms with Assyrian creations, displayed in a sequence
lestial vault to span and unify the large internal spaces, of thematic sections approached from an anthropo-
parallelepipeds that alternate with the open zones of logical perspective, to embody the “belief that nations
contemporary patios. thrive on diversity and acceptance, with a curatorial
With its 97,000 square meters divided into 55 pris- narrative that emphasizes how interconnected the
tine volumes of different sizes and 23 exhibition galler- world has always been,” as His Excellency Mohamed
ies connected around a water plaza, the Museum of Art Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Tourism
and Civilization of Abu Dhabi, conceived as an Arabi- & Culture Authority emphasizes. Everything exists in
an medina, is one of the largest museums in the world a constant relationship with water, the great protago-
as well as a symbol of religious and cultural tolerance. nist of this museum-city, it, too, almost shaped by the
Located on the island of Saadiyat, the city’s cultural profiles of the buildings that face it and incorporate its
district—which in coming years will host the Zayed reflections. The water surrounds the museum and then
National Museum designed by Norman Foster, a mar- enters it, encountering other dimensions and materi-
itime museum by Tadao Ando, the Guggenheim Abu als and varying its presence in terms of sound. Places
Dhabi by Frank Gehry, and a Performing Arts Center and spaces designed to underscore the play of light and
by Zaha Hadid—this “new” Louvre required ten years shadow that pervades the entire museum complex.
of work, also involving advanced hydraulic engineer- Rooms and paths interrupted by diagonals and sudden
ing to allow the sea to penetrate and surround the en- cuts, because they are connected by a dense network of
tire complex. corridors and canals in which the waters of the Persian
Here in Abu Dhabi the renowned French firm Gulf can flow.
demonstrates its ability to bring together distant, ap- To make the facility enjoyable in spite of the diffi- A complex that also becomes an immersive sensorial experience, with the effects
parently contrasting traditions, ranging from the cult climate conditions caused by intense heat, Nouv-
Western culture of reinforced concrete to high technol- el chose to build it on the sea, to generate a particular
ogy at the service of energy savings, from the numero- micro-climate. Movements of air, water and controlled, of the light that penetrates through the dense pattern of stars of the large.
logical composition of Kabbalah in the large exhibition filtered light return in the fragmented pattern of the in-
spaces to the “sacred” character of Islamic religious teriors, amidst passages, interspaces, galleries, public
buildings and Turkish baths. It is no coincidence that and service spaces. The permanent displays are joined
the designer himself has chosen to insert the works of by a space for temporary exhibitions and a children’s
two international artists in dialogue with his architec- museum, along with boutiques, a restaurant, and a cafe.
ture: the installation Germination (2017) by Giuseppe These latter facilities have been honed in great detail to
Penone, about the interconnections of man, nature, become places open to the territory, nearly independ-
and art, and the magnificent bas relief in limestone For ent of the museum itself, where the play of lights links
Louvre Abu Dhabi (2017) by the American artist Jenny back to the allure of the seventeenth-century French
Holzer, a tribute to the history of intercultural dialogue tradition, large suspended chandeliers and the elegant
starting from three ancient texts dating back to the As- lighting systems of Arabian royal palaces. A complex
syrians and Sumerians. The exhibition spaces have that also becomes an immersive sensorial experience,
glossy, pale surfaces, accompanied by flooring that with the effects of the light that penetrates through the
extends through the different zones and paths of cir- dense pattern of stars of the large, enveloping roof, the
culation, varying the surface of fine, very pale marble warm, material luminosity of the daytime, the rarefied,
with the darker tones of precious inlays, also in the Pi- cooler atmosphere of dusk and night. An evocative set-
etra di Luserna native to the Cuneo area in Piedmont. ting in the age of globalization, with as many as 4,500
In the galleries a dialogue is formulated between an- fluorescent lights the make the dome glow when seen
tique works of Middle Eastern origin and Western art from the outside, a visible presence in an Abu Dhabi
of all eras. Pieces by Titian, Van Gogh, Degas, David, skyline worthy of “a thousand and one nights.”

28 Architecture Protagonist Protagonist argomento 29