Construction of first gallery completed on Louvre Abu Dhabi

First gallery of Louvre Abu Dhabi The Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC) announced yesterday that it has completed construction of the first gallery of Louvre Abu Dhabi which is set for completion by the fourth quarter of 2015. With a transparent glass roof that allows natural light to enter, visitors to Louvre Abu Dhabi will feel a "rain of light" effect across most of its galleries, as a result of the interlaced steel cladding dome of the museum. A significant amount of work is well underway for construction of the museum's interior walls, along with the installation of mechanical plant, water pipes, electrical cabling and security systems. With more than 5,300 workers on site today and around 117,000 cubic meters of concrete poured so far, construction work on the galleries is progressing in parallel with the installation of the museum's prominent dome which features 85 steel segments weighing between 30 and 70 tonnes each. To date, 20 percent of the dome's structure has been put in place, with the completion of the full structural steel frame set for September this year.
Ali Al Hammadi, Deputy Managing Director at TDIC, said, "We're happy with where we are today. To date, more than 10 million man hours have been dedicated to Louvre Abu Dhabi, reflecting the amount of foundation work that the museum requires. Despite the challenging and complicated design, construction on the ground has been progressing steadily and on schedule. Over the course of one year, we've moved from construction at seven metres deep to above ground construction of the galleries." The majority of the concrete work for the museum's basement levels has been completed, including underground buildings, such as the Energy Centre that houses pumps, generators, transformers, and similar building elements, and the Security Screening Facility, a highly secure seven-metre deep basement through which authorised vehicles will transport all the artwork for the museum.
Designed by Pritzker-Prize winning architect Jean Nouvel, Louvre Abu Dhabi will encompass 9,200 square metres of art galleries. The 6,681-square-metre Permanent Gallery will house the museum's permanent collection, taking visitors on a universal journey, from the most ancient to contemporary, through art works from different civilisations. The Temporary Gallery will be a dedicated space of 2,364 square metres presenting temporary or travelling exhibitions of international stature.
Louvre Abu Dhabi, scheduled for completion in 2015, will be one of the premier cultural institutions located in the heart of the Saadiyat Cultural District. These feature Zayed National Museum, which will open in 2016, and Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, which will open in 2017 - both also designed by world-renowned Pritzker-prize winning architects.
Source: WAM