Guggenheim Abu Dhabi rising to form in Saadiyat Cultural District

Museum is on track for 2025 completion

Construction of Guggenheim Abu Dhabi on Saadiyat Island is at an advanced stage. Victor Besa / The National

Guggenheim Abu Dhabi has already become a physical landmark in the UAE capital.

Elements unique to the structure have begun to take visible shape and it is gradually becoming clear that the museum will be as architecturally captivating in real life as it has been in digital renderings.

The outlines to the glass bridges that will link the four levels and the central atrium are now evident. The outer ochre-hued element bearing the museum’s name has apparently been completed. Some half a dozen cranes still loom from the site as the 2025 scheduled completion edges closer.

Designed by renowned architect Frank Gehry – who is also behind the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain – the UAE site is set to be the latest and largest outpost of the Solomon R Guggenheim Foundation, which runs four international museums.

Once completed, Guggenheim Abu Dhabi will cover 30,000 square metres. It will stand 88 metres tall and will feature nine cone-shaped structures, each of which will be a space for both commissions and acquisitions. The museum will be among several other landmark cultural institutions in the Saadiyat Cultural District, including Louvre Abu Dhabi, the Natural History Museum and Zayed National Museum.

Guggenheim Abu Dhabi’s design was cutting edge when it was first revealed years ago. Though initially meant to welcome visitors by 2012, the project’s completion was pushed back. Nonetheless, its architecture remains resolutely contemporary.

During the 2022 Culture Summit Abu Dhabi, Gehry gave some insights about into what inspired the museum’s design. The Canadian-American architect came to Abu Dhabi more than 20 years ago to start working on the project. However, he said it was challenging to think of a design, especially when he considered how much the capital’s cityscape would change over the years.

He spent time observing local cultural elements and experimenting with traditional forms. It was the structures of minarets and domes that captivated him most.

“I understood that the same form multiplied was something that was part of the language of the architecture of the region,” said Gehry. This was his starting point. He then applied his playful touch.

Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is expected to house important modern and contemporary artworks from West Asia, North Africa and South Asia, displaying a collection that aims to spur cross-cultural exchange and collaboration.

“The collection is something that has been built for 15 years by excellent curators,” Stephanie Rosenthal, the museum’s project director, said during a 2023 virtual event by the Guggenheim foundation. “It’s not one that we’re going to build in the next two years. It is a deeply thought-out endeavour.”

The museum will have a pivotal role in further developing the local creative economy. Through commissioned works, it aims to spur long-lasting conversations between the institution and the public, both locally and internationally.

“One thing we’re all excited for now is the commissions,” Rosenthal said. “We started the process of inviting artists to come here to do research, to work with the local culture and learn more about the building.”

The commissions, she noted, will be thoughtfully placed so that they “dance with the building”.