Louvre Abu Dhabi 'a symbol of UAE's renaissance and development

French architect Jean Nouvel, the designer of the Louvre Abu Dhabi, has described the new museum as the world's most important and the most prestigious cultural project of the century.

Nouvel said that great effort had been made to ensure that all the artworks and artefacts were presented in a manner that encourages visitors to engage in a rich cultural experience.

Commenting on his experience whilst designing the museum, he said, "Before I agree to take on any architectural project, it is important that I study the location and its surroundings to better understand the project's needs. I am very keen to design unparalleled architectural works by reproducing existing experiences and forms, symbolising unique specificities in each design, bearing the hallmarks of the country's cultural identity."

"The Louvre Abu Dhabi's architectural design is, to me, a symbol of the UAE's renaissance and development," he added.

When comparing the Louvre Abu Dhabi to Musee du Louvre, Jean Nouvel said that the Louvre in Paris has a complex and tangled history.

As a palace of King Louis XIV of France, the Louvre was decreed to become a museum following the French Revolution. The building itself has seen many changes, from the fire damage caused during fighting at the time of the 1871 Paris Commune, to the completion of the Inverted Pyramid project in 1993.

Nouvel explained that these transformations from the historical to the modern are what symbolises the Musee du Louvre and that the Louvre Abu Dhabi, in turn, represents a modern, forward-looking approach to expanding cultural dialogue, while preserving the history of ancient civilisations.