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Louvre Abu Dhabi, UAE

Published 1 December 2020

The gist: Louvre Abu Dhabi makes the spaces between galleries part of the museum experience. Low buildings and walkways sit beneath a layered dome that filters sunlight into changing patterns. Drawing on regional forms, Nouvel uses shade, reflected light and the surrounding water to give the complex its character.

Location: Abu Dhabi, UAE
Year built: 2017
Architect: Jean Nouvel

At Louvre Abu Dhabi, Jean Nouvel arranges low buildings and outdoor walkways beneath a broad, layered dome. The plan draws on the region’s low-rise houses and narrow medina streets, while the dome filters sunlight into changing patterns across the spaces below. Surrounded by water, the museum makes shade, reflected light and the movement between galleries central to the experience.

Jean Nouvel

Born in 1945, Jean Nouvel is a French architect who studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He is known for being a founding member of the Mars 1976 movement, which opposed corporatism in architecture, and the Syndicat de l’Architecture, a labour union for French architects.

Nouvel began his career in architecture by working as an assistant to architects Paul Virilio and Claude Parent. After only one year, the pair promoted him to project manager and placed him in charge of constructing a large apartment complex.

Nouvel does not call upon style or ideology in his planning. Instead, he takes a contextual approach to design, considering the individual needs of the people and landscapes impacted by each project. His works are recognised for transforming and defining the environments in which they are built.

Over the course of his career, Nouvel has attained a number of prestigious distinctions, including the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, the 2008 Pritzker Prize, and the 2005 Wolf Prize in Arts. His notable works include the Arab World Institute in Paris, France; the Culture and Convention Centre in Lucerne, Switzerland; and the Le Nouvel Residences in Kuala Lumpur.

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