Cladding of Louvre Abu Dhabi dome on target for June 2015

ABU DHABI // Work on the cladding of the Louvre Abu Dhabi dome is well under way, the Tourism Development & Investment Company, the master developer of Saadiyat's Cultural District, announced yesterday.
The cladding – which is made up of eight layers, four internal and four external – is one of the most significant stages of the museum's construction, giving Louvre Abu Dhabi its interior "rain of light" effect.
To date, 30 per cent of the cladding has been installed and that operation is expected to be completed by June.
This update follows a tour conducted by Louvre Abu Dhabi Pritzker Prize-winning architect Jean Nouvel to oversee the latest developments. Mr Nouvel was accompanied by Ali Al Mansoori, TDIC's chairman.
The design is inspired by the interlaced palm leaves traditionally used as roofing material in the Emirates. The roof's complex pattern is the result of a geometric design, repeated at various sizes and angles in eight layers, giving the dome a delicate form that leads to the rain of light effect. The cladding layers are made from 7,850 star-shaped aluminium and stainless steel elements, the largest of which measures 13 metres in diameter and weighs 1.3 tonnes. These star-shaped elements make up eight layers of cladding weighing a total of 2,000 tonnes.
"The installation of the external cladding of the dome is one of the most significant processes, given that the dome is the museum's iconic feature and one that will result in Jean Nouvel's rain of light," said Mr Al Mansoori.
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