SHEIK ZAYED NATIONAL MUSEUM

A competition by invitation to design the Museum dedicated to the character of Sheikh Zayed. The project involves telling an architectural story, which, by means of a cognitive path, manifests the heritage of that figure who expressed the values of belonging and common identity shared by the
seven cities of the United Arab Emirates.
The project locates the emotional heart of the Museum, meant to be a common house, in the shelter of the generous shade provided by the majestic roof studded with shards
of blue majolica, which, like a tent in the desert with the wind from the Gulf blowing through it, protects the memory left as a heritage by the Sheikh. Above the roof rise seven towers seventy-seven metres high. These are symbolic interpretations of the theme of the minaret, the lighthouse in Islam (manar).
The Towers of Light are the lighthouses of Saadiyat Island as well as of the city of Abu Dhabi and represent the unity achieved by the seven Emirates, rising above the skyline as new landmarks of the community.
The design of the urban space, defined by the Museum and three exhibition
Pavilions, pursues sensitive as well as perceptive qualities capable of structuring and orienting the project.
A scenic logic pervades the project with dilation and compression of space in order to soften the building and spaces designed around the atmospheric values of air and light.
The space in the design proves sensitive to variations in atmospheric conditions, like the great roof composed of sinuous lines beneath the Towers of Light covered with shards of blue majolica and photovoltaic panels which protects the Museum treasure chest, it contrasts with the daylight in order to create the shady conditions typical of Islamic architecture, allowing the light to filter through only where necessary. Thus the three Pavilions of the Biennale become shells covered with
reflective steel, and like enormous conceptual art installations, remain in intimate dialogue with the landscape and natural elements in a continuous play of perceptive cross reference.
The design project presented for the heart of the Cultural District is not strictly limited to this area alone in so far as the circular piazza together with the adjacent poly-functional buildings are included in an idea which defines an overall vision of the space so as to give the design a sense of completion. The path which connects the Performing Art Center first with the three Pavilions of the Biennale and then with the SZNM must be conceived as a single spatial system.

COMPETITION: 2007

Architect
Mario Bellini Architects

Design Team
Mario Bellini with Maurizio Di Lauro

Project Team
Maurizio Di Lauro (project architect)
Davide Fascione (3D model and render image)
Valerio Lovecchio (3D model and render image)
Roberta Totaro
Laura M. De Chiara
Sylva Tentori

Consultants
Structure: WSP Middle East Ltd.
Mechanical services: WSP Middle East Ltd.
Electrical system: WSP Middle East Ltd.
LEED consultant: GREEN TECHNOLOGIES
Quantity surveyor: DAVIS LANGDON
Model: ALKIMIA