'zayed national museum in abu dhabi' by foster + partners
all images courtesy foster + partners


foster + partners' designs for the 'zayed national museum' in abu dhabi was revealed by
his highness sheikh mohammed bin rashid al maktoum, vice-president and prime minister
of the UAE and ruler of dubai and her majesty queen elizabeth II of the united kingdom.
conceived as a monumnet and memorial to the late sheikh zayed bin sultan al nahyan,
the founding president of the UAE, the museum will be the centrepiece of the saadiyat
island cultural district and will showcase the history, culture and more recently the social
and economic transformation of the emirates.





the design of the museum aims to combine a highly efficient, contemporary form
with elements of traditional arabic design and hospitality to create a museum that is
sustainable, welcoming and culturally of its place. featuring a landscaped garden
around its base, the museum's display spaces are housed within a man-made mound.
the interior conditions are regulated passively through five solar thermal towers,
which host the galleries. the towers heat up and act as thermal chimneys, drawing
cool air currents throughout the museum. fresh air is captures at the low level and
drawn through buried ground-cooling pipes and then released into the museum's lobby.
air vents open at the top of the wing-shaped towers taking advantage of the negative
pressure on the lee of the wing profile to draw the hot air out.





balancing the lightweight steel structures with a more monumental interior experience,
the galleries are anchored by a dramatic top-lit central lobby, which is dug into the earth
to exploit its thermal properties and brings together shops, cafes, and auditorium and
informal venues for performances. throughout, the treatment of light and shade draws
on a tradition of discreet, carefully positioned openings, which capture and direct
the region's intense sunlight to illuminate and animate these interior spaces.





lord foster said, 'it has been a great privilege to work on the zayed national museum,
to carry forward sheikh zayed's vision and to communicate the dynamic character
of a contemporary united arab emirates. we have sought to establish a building that
will be an exemplar of sustainable design, resonating with sheikh zayed's love of
nature and his wider heritage.'





project info:

client: tourism development + investment company
foster + partners team: norman foster, david nelson, gerard evenden,
toby blunt, marin castle, ross palmer, dara towhidi, karsten vollmer,
barrie cheng, ho ling cheung, sidonie immler, joern hermann, nadrew king,
gemma owen, jillian salter, marilu sicoli, daniel weiss, bram van der wal, simon wing
engineers: WSP/BDSP AKT
local architect: planar
landscape architects: atelier dreiseitl
lighting designers: claude engle
cost consultants: RLB
facade access: lerch bates
specification writers: schumann smith

man-made mound: 30.7m
wings: range from 73-124m
gross internal area: 58,698 m2
total built up area: 66,042 m2
total gallery space: 5,764 m2
museum & mound site area: 53,331 m2
public gardens, total area: 21,439 m2