LINES in the SAND

DESIGNED BY FOSTER + PARTNERS, THE NEW ZAYED NATIONAL MUSEUM IN ABU DHABI MARRIES VERNACULAR TRADITIONS WITH CUTTING-EDGE RESPONSES TO EXTREMIE CLIMATE NEEDS

- TEXT BY PRATYUSH SARUP

How does one distill the identity and ambition of a country into a singular building? When it came to the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) new Zayed National Museum, architect Norman Foster took inspiration from the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the driving force behind the creation of the gulf state.

“He had a vision for what the UAE could be and believed in its potential as a place for driving innovation that was rooted in the heritage of its people,” says Foster, who, through an international competition, was awarded the project in 2007. “Our approach was driven by an exploration of a building’s role as a national museum, to honor the relationship between the landscape, setting, and cultural context, lensed through the values and character of the late Sheikh Zayed.”

Officially opened to the public on December 3, the building is located on Saadiyat Island, the UAE capital’s cultural nucleus, and counts as its neighbors the local outposts of the Louvre, unveiled in 2017, and the Guggenheim, now nearing completion. Zayed National Museum spans more than 600,000 square feet, spread across three levels plus a basement and additional facilities. Surrounding it are gardens featuring local flora, inspired by Sheikh Zayed’s efforts to re-green the nation, which have led to cloud seeding, vertical farming, and other agricultural innovations throughout the region.