Louvre Abu Dhabi

Louvre Abu Dhabi
Model of the future Louvre Abu Dhabi
General information
Type	Art museum
Architectural style	Modern
Location	Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi
Coordinates	24°32′01″N 54°23′54″E / 24.5336639°N 54.3984611°E / 24.5336639; 54.3984611
Completed	Projected late 2016
Cost	€83 million - €108 million
Design and construction
Architect	Jean Nouvel
Structural engineer	Buro Happold

The Louvre Abu Dhabi is a planned museum, to be located in Abu Dhabi, UAE. On Tuesday 7 March 2007, the Louvre in Paris announced that a new Louvre museum would be completed by 2012 in Abu Dhabi, with a revised estimate in early 2013 for a completion date of 2015. These both fell short of the current projection of an opening in late 2016. This is part of a thirty-year agreement between the city of Abu Dhabi and the French government. The museum is to be located on the Saadiyat Island Cultural District, and will be approximately 24,000 square metres (260,000 sq ft) in size. The final cost of the construction is expected to be between €83 million and €108 million. In addition, US$525 million was paid by Abu Dhabi to be associated with the Louvre name, and an additional $747 million will be paid in exchange for art loans, special exhibitions and management advice.

Artwork from around the world will be showcased at the museum, with particular focus placed upon bridging the gap between Eastern and Western art. However, the construction of the museum has caused much controversy in the art world, as many objections have been raised as to the motives of the Louvre in this deal.

The establishment of this museum was approved by the French Parliament on 9 October 2007. The architect for the building will be Jean Nouvel and the engineers are Buro Happold. Jean Nouvel also designed the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris.

The museum will be part of a US$27 billion tourist and cultural development for Saadiyat Island, a complex which is planned to include three other museums, including a Guggenheim Museum and the Zayed National Museum. According to the government sponsored website UAE Interact: "The French Museums Agency will operate in collaboration with the Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC), which is behind the transformation of Saadiyat Island. It will be chaired by French financier and member of the country's Académie des Beaux-Arts, Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière, publisher of the periodical Revue des Deux Mondes." Bruno Maquart, the former Executive Director of Centre Georges Pompidou, will take the position of Executive Director."