It’s the Louvre, but not as you know it

Adrian Ballantyne

First published 19 December 2017, 2:24pm

The Louvre Abu Dhabi features a huge dome structure that is home to more than 8000sqm of museum exhibit space.

It’s not THE Louvre, but it might be just as impressive.

The Louvre Abu Dhabi is the United Arab Emirates’ answer to the famous French museum, and features its own brand of stunning architectural mastery.

Built at Saadiyat Island, the new museum centres around a floating, 180m-wide dome structure, and will be soon be home to 6000sqm of permanent exhibitions and 2000sqm of temporary attractions.

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The dome weighs 7500 tonnes and includes a tapestry of stainless steel beams that form 7850 stars, the largest of which measures 13m in diameter and weighs 13 tonnes.

In addition to the dome, there are also 55 detached buildings, 23 of which are home to galleries.

Construction on the facility began in 2009, and it was officially completed in November this year.

The structure features a network of steel beams that form thousands of stars. Picture: Louvre Abu Dhabi.

Abu Dhabi reportedly paid $US525 million for the right to use the Louvre name, while it’ll cost the new facility another $777 million for art loans, exhibitions and management advice.