#PROJECT: GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM (Saadiyat Island)

[Krazy]

I think this deserves its own thread... it will the the LARGEST Guggenheim museum in the world!

Frank Gehry to design Guggenheim museum


The signing of the memorandum of understanding was witnessed by General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces. The MoU was signed on behalf of Abu Dhabi by Shaikh Sultan Bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan, Chairman of ADTA, TDIC and Abu Dhabi Culture and Heritage Authority and Thomas Kerns, Director of Guggenheim Foundation. William Mack, Chairman of the foundation, was also present.

Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi is set to become the home of the world's largest Guggenheim museum.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed yesterday between Abu Dhabi's Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC) and the New York-based Guggenheim Foundation to establish a world-class museum devoted to modern and contemporary art.

The museum, to be called the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi (GAD), will be built in the Cultural District of Saadiyat Island and will cover 30,000 square metres. It is expected to be completed in five years.

The museum is to be designed by the internationally-acclaimed architect Frank Gehry.

Collection of works

GAD will be the only Guggenheim museum in the region and will be larger than any existing Guggenheim worldwide, said Thomas Kerns, Director of the Guggenheim Foundation.

"It will be 20 per cent bigger than our existing 25,000-square metre Bilbao museum," he said.

According to the MoU, TDIC, which manages the authority's tourism assets, will own the museum.

The Guggenheim Foundation will establish and manage the museum's programme, which will include collection development, exhibitions and educational initiatives.

The museum will form its own major collection of contemporary art and will also exhibit masterworks from the Guggenheim Foundation's global collections.

"Today's signing represents the determination of the Abu Dhabi Government to create a world-class cultural destination for its residents and visitors," said General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, at the ceremony.

"This is a major step forward in our plans for Saadiyat Island and its Cultural District which will become an international cultural hub for the Middle East on par with the best in the world."

The MoU was signed on behalf of Abu Dhabi by Shaikh Sultan Bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA), TDIC, and Abu Dhabi Culture and Heritage Authority, and Thomas Kerns.

"Abu Dhabi's museum will join exclusive Guggenheim museum network which currently includes New York, Venice in Italy, Bilbao in Spain, Berlin in Germany and Las Vegas," Shaikh Sultan said.

[Shad]

World-class art museum will be set up in capital
By Haseeb Haider

9 July 2006



ABU DHABI —The Cultural District, an integral part of the tourist Island of Saadiyat being developed near Abu Dhabi, will have a museum of culture, history and contemporary art. It will be set up by the New York-based Guggenheim Foundation which runs five museums.


A high-profle MoU signing ceremony between the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) and Guggenheim Foundation to establish the museum was held in the capital. It was attended by General Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, Shaikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Foreign Minister, other ministers and Shaikhs and top government officials.

Speaking to reporters, Mubarak Al Muhairi, Director-General, ADTA and Managing Director TDIC, said: “We are currently in negotiations with other world-class international cultural institutions and anticipate making further announcements on the Cultural District's outstanding projects in the months to come.”

He said that cultural tourism is an important component of our redevelopment plan. The power of the arts to attract an international audience is borne out by the fact that with its global locations, the Guggenheim has seen its worldwide attendance triple over the past 15 years. It now welcomes more than 2.5 million visitors annually, making it one of the world’s most visited museums.”

Shaikh Sultan bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan Chairman of ADTA, said that Guggenheim Abu Dhabi (GAD) would be designed by internationally-acclaimed architect Frank Gehry, hoping to position the emirate as a leading international cultural destination.

“Abu Dhabi museum will join a highly exclusive Guggenheim museum network which currently includes New York, Las Vegas, Venice, Bilbao and Berlin,” said Shaikh Sultan.

He said that spread over 30,000 square metres, the Abu Dhabi museum will be the only Guggenheim museum in the region and will be larger than any existing Guggenheim museum worldwide. It is expected that the museum will be constructed within five years.

He said that the museum would form its own major collection of contemporary art and would also exhibit artworks from the Guggenheim Foundation's global collections. The Cultural District will also be home to a national museum, classical art museum, maritime museum, performing arts centre and an expansive arts centre park.

“This is a major step forward in our plans for Saadiyat Island and its Cultural District which will become an international cultural hub for the Middle East on par with the best in the world. The signing also represents a significant development in the creation and nurturing of international cultural ties which we believe will do much to forge greater understanding between all nations.”

Thomas Krens, Director of the Guggenheim Foundation, said the signing reflects the visionary spirit and forward-looking approach that are the Guggenheim's hallmarks.

According to the MoU, Abu Dhabi’s Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC), which manages the authority's tourism assets, will own the museum while the Guggenheim Foundation will establish and manage the museum's programme, which will include collection development, exhibitions and educational initiatives.

Architectural distinction will be a defining feature for all of the major new structures, which will comprise Saadiyat Island's Cultural District.

[Rcd]

Not to Dubai!
Now they have to think something like this too

[metroreporter]

dubai should get more fanciful architects to do projects like gehry or calatrava

but not a guggenheim. they should just let AD keep this one lol

look what gehry made for us in LA, imagine what he can do in dubai!

[KapitangKiko]

Gehry, and possibly Calatrava, are actually going to do something for Abu Dhabi.
Watch out for it.

[KapitangKiko]

Here's one from The Times...


World News
The Times July 10, 2006

Middle East takes on the West with first major art gallery
From Jack Malvern in Abu Dhabi

THE Middle East is to get its first world-class art gallery after the Guggenheim Foundation signed a multimillion-pound deal at the weekend with the rulers of Abu Dhabi.

The New York-based foundation intends to build a museum in the largest of the United Arab Emirates that will be bigger and bolder than its existing galleries in New York, Bilbao, Venice, Berlin and Las Vegas.

Frank Gehry, the architect whose designs for the Guggenheim in Bilbao helped to transform the Basque city into a vibrant cultural centre, has been commissioned to create a radical building that could cost $200 million (£108 million). It will house a collection of modern and contemporary art consisting of works from the Guggenheim’s collection and art acquired with grants from Abu Dhabi that are expected to exceed the $10 million level set by the Basque government in Bilbao. The emirate, through its tourist agency, will pay for the costs of the building and administration in exchange for the Guggenheim’s expertise and brand. The deal, masterminded by Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed al-Nahyan, is a coup for Abu Dhabi at a time when Arab states are competing to become tourist destinations.

The emirate has stolen a march on Dubai, which had also been in negotiations with the Guggenheim in its attempt to become the dominant cultural centre in the Middle East.

Despite the oil wealth of Abu Dhabi — it has an estimated 9.2 per cent of the world’s proven reserves — the ruling family knows that it must find other sources of income before the wells run dry.

The Crown Prince has initiated a $1.5 billion project to turn Saadiyat (Happiness) Island, an empty patch of land half the size of Bermuda and 500 metres off the coast of Abu Dhabi city, into a tourist resort that will include at least four museums. The emirate is also in negotiations with the Louvre over a classical museum.

The state currently has no public art galleries and little experience of Western contemporary art, but the Guggenheim played down concerns that it would have to censor travelling exhibitions for Abu Dhabi.

Thomas Krens, the Guggenheim’s director, said that curators would remove works liable to offend Islamic sensibilities such as nudes, but they would represent a tiny proportion of most shows. “It’s not so much a question of censorship but of sensitivity to local traditions,” he said.

The architect promised to deliver a design that would rival his iconic building in Bilbao. “I don’t think I have to be conservative because they’re asking for something really special,” Mr Gehry said.

He has not drawn up any designs for the 30,000 square metre building, but is considering raising the museum on stilts. He said: “It should be part of where it is built and not just a foreign object that looks like it has landed from outer space.”

He is being pressed to provide a design within four months so that the building can be completed within five years.

Mr Krens said that 130 other cities had approached him since the success of the Bilbao museum in generating investment, but none had been as decisive as Abu Dhabi. Other projects, such as a proposed museum in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, had failed because of political fighting over the large sums of money involved.

ART HOUSES
# The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation was started in 1937 by Solomon R. Guggenheim, a philanthropist, and Hilla von Rebay, a German-born artist and aristocrat

# There are Guggenheim museums in New York, Las Vegas, Venice, Bilbao and Berlin.

# The oldest work in the permanent collection is an 1869 Pissaro landscape

# Several of the buildings are known for their architecture as well as their collections. The Guggenheim building in New York was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright; Bilbao by Frank Gehry and Las Vegas by Rem Koolhaas

# The Guggenheim family made its fortune in mining and lace

[malec]

Well, let's hope it won't look exactly like his other stuff, since that's what he tends to do usually

[flares]

I went to the Bilbao Guggenheim and there was a Gehry exhibition on at the time showcasing his office's work. Bloody fantastic news for AD I say.

I for one will visit. May even get a season ticket. It will be sooooo nice being able to escape the hustle and bustle (and heat) and immerse yourself in a bit of culture. No disrespect to the Cultural Foundation and it's colourful camels of course.

[guy_in_dubai]

good for u abu dhabi! sounds really good-now its upto dubai to think of something better!

[KapitangKiko]

Aside from the Guggenheim, there's actually a number of museums that are going to be built at the cultural district of Saadiyat - National Museum, Classical, Modern and Contemporary Art, Maritime, etc.

It could be that aside from Gehry, other notable museum architects (such as Calatrava, Tadao Ando) would be designing some of those.

[Krazy]

Guggenheim Abu Dhabi takes shape

31 January 2007

Designs for the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Museum – which is set to be built on Abu Dhabi’s $27bn Saadiyat Island – were unveiled today in the UAE capital.

Cones, rhomboid blocks, and a mass of other less definable shapes make up Frank Gehry’s concept for the new contemporary art centre.

At 320,000 sq ft, it will be world’s largest – and the Middle East’s only – Guggenheim museum.

The designs were part of an exhibition about Saadiyat that was opened this morning by HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Executive Council Chairman.

Saadiyat – which translates from Arabic as ‘Island of Happiness’ – is a 27 sq km island 500 metres offshore from Abu Dhabi city. It is being developed under the direction of the Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC) as a flagship initiative in the emirate’s economic diversification. Five art galleries will form the centrepiece of the development.

Architects Jean Nouvel, Zaha Hadid and Tadao Ando were this morning named as the prestigious names behind the other cultural centres set to be built on the island.

Nouvel is set to build a ‘Classical Museum’. Although not officially confirmed, it is believed that this space could accommodate works from Paris’s Musée du Louvre – home to Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. The French and UAE governments are thought to be close to a $800m-$1bn deal agreeing this. It was previously reported that a 20-year agreement could include up to 300 Louvre artworks on "permanent" display in Abu Dhabi and four temporary shows a year.

The news drew objections from campaigners in France, who claim that France is “selling its soul” in agreeing to sign over some of its cultural heritage as a “commercial interest”. A French website, which is blocked by the UAE authorities, has been petitioning against this.

The Iraqi-born, British-educated Zaha Hadid is designing Saadiyat's Performing Arts Centre, which will host music, theatre and dance events; Japan’s Tadao Ando has submitted a design – also unveiled today – for a Maritime Museum, which will focus on the maritime history of the UAE and Arabian Gulf.

It was also announced today that Saadiyat will feature a Sheikh Zayed National Museum, which will be devoted to the history of Abu Dhabi and its late ruler, HH Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan al Nahyan. An international competition to find a design for this will be launched.

As ArabianBusiness.com reported last year, Tessa Jowell, the UK’s Secretary of State for Culture, Media & Sport, met with the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) to talk about a possible involvement on Saadiyat. It was speculated at the time that one area of discussion was the possible involvement of a UK art institution.

[Krazy]

Frank Genry's design for the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi


The Classical Museum, designed by Jean Nouvel of France.


If a UAE-France deal goes ahead, the Classical Museum may display works from the Louvre.


Iraqi-born Zaha Hadid's concept for Saadiyat's Performing Arts Centre


A design for the Maritime Museum by Japan's Tadao Ando.

[docc]

Fantastic project, definitely puts AD on the map for exquisite reasons. First the F1, and now this....NICE!

[metroreporter]

wow, how exciting!

well, i'm gonna put in my regarding all of this very neat looking architecture and having taken a bit of Art History in college:

-I don't get the Guggenheim's design, is it trying to hint at urban cityscape or a scene of earthquake disaster or a city rising out of an area where desert meets seashore?

-Nouvel's resembles a lunarscape on the top side, and I'm guessing it's supposed to be hinting at the desert landscape on the underside of the imposing dome. The boxy little palm island planters are a cute touch.

- Hadid's is a complete winner. Not only does it look very organic, resembling various objects in nature including a translucent plant leaf, a bird's wings in flight, a very life-inspiring design.

- Ando's is a bummer. A very industrial design resembling a Stealth fighter, not something I'd want in the Gulf.

[Fluppet]

They might (or might not) look nice in the models, but just wait until they are finished and you are looking at them during the buring hot and humid summer. They will be covered in dust (and just think how hard it will be to clean those crazy angles), maintainance will be poor (had a look at the Corniche recently?), and you'll be thinking about a lot of wasted money.

[KapitangKiko]

Originally Posted by metroreporter

-I don't get the Guggenheim's design, is it trying to hint at urban cityscape or a scene of earthquake disaster or a city rising out of an area where desert meets seashore?

Here's an apt explanation. Unfortunately for some, it's dubbed in Spanish...Frank Gehry's inspiration

[Parisian Girl]

The Abu Dhabi museum will be the world's biggest Guggenheim

Guggenheim Abu Dhabi set for end-of-year tenders

by Ben Roberts on Apr 14, 2010

The Guggenheim Abu Dhabi will be tendering for construction of its super-structure nearer the end of this year after the design scheduled for the end of this month is finished.

The art museum is part of the extensive US $ AED120 billion portfolio of projects conceived by the Emirate’s Tourism Development & Investment Company (ADIC) that are at various stages of design and development.

It will follow the tender for the piling for what will be the world’s biggest Guggenheim - currently open to offers.

The 55-plus projects planned by the Company will cover more than 15 destinations and range from golf clubs and hotels to luxury villas, along with two islands. It has entered into joint ventures with “major commercial families” with some of its projects, some of them conceived in 2005, a year before the company’s own launch.

Lee Tabler, CEO, said ADIC will not need to return to the international bond market this year.

“We raised US $1 billion and then US $1 billion through a Sukuk [Islamic bond that conforms with Shariah financing rules],” he said.

“Both bonds were five-year, and I don’t believe we need to raise further bond financing for the rest of 2010.”

James Pringle, executive director – development, added that approximately two thirds of the projects are national economic projects.

“One third of the projects are commercial, financed through bonds and sukuk, as just two sources of funding. Other forms are project financing and then straight bank debt. There are a few other forms of private funding. As far as going to the market, we have been looking at it but we don’t have specific plans.”

The Company’s swathe of new developments is in line with the emirate’s 2030 Economic Vision. Tabler added that the TDIC’s promotion of the portfolio was able to “piggy back” on the international marketing of Abu Dhabi by the Tourism Authority.

“We work carefully with Abu Dhabi’s Tourism Authority, which is also a major presence in the World Trade Shows in Berlin, London and Milan.”

Tabler told Construction Week that amid current gyrations in commodity prices, projects may partly be prioritized by the price of the materials needed to build them. He qualified, however, that the number of years needed for some projects meant that prices could not dominate construction proceedings overall.

He added that market demand would be another factor in prioritizing projects.

>> Source

[bizzybonita]

Saadiyat Island is home to the Saadiyat Island Cultural District where the Zayed National Museum, Louvre Abu Dhabi and Guggenheim Abu Dhabi are all on schedule to open by 2013. Construction works on all three continue apace, with the enabling works complete and the piling works now in progress. On the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, the main contract will go to tender in October 2010 and will be returned by January 2011. The main contract for Louvre Abu Dhabi went to tender in March 2010 and will be returned by June 2010; work is to start in September 2010 and will be completed by September 2013. On the Zayed National Museum, the main contract will go to tender in June 2010 and will be returned by August 2010; work will commence in November 2010 and will be completed and will be completed by September 2013.

A 15-metre prototype dome for the Louvre Abu Dhabi has recently been installed on Saadiyat Island to simulate the lighting conditions under the final 180 metre-wide structure at different times of day; while a mock-up centre containing a 1:50 scale model of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Museum is also set to open in the fourth quarter of 2010.

Opening with its inaugural exhibition in November 2009, Manarat Al Saadiyat visitors' and exhibition centre is already proving a hit, with The Saadiyat Story, an interactive narrative on the history and cultural vision behind Saadiyat Island.


http://www.ameinfo.com/229838.html

[Parisian Girl]

Last chance to see Abu Dhabi’s Guggenheim vision

Eugene Harnan | Last Updated: September 17. 2010 11:17AM UAE / September 17. 2010 7:17AM GMT


A scale model of the Guggenheim Museum that is to be built on Saadiyat Island. Galen Clarke / The National

ABU DHABI // Residents have until tomorrow to snatch a glimpse of what Abu Dhabi’s Guggenheim Museum is going to look like.

It is merely a model – the basement structure and seawall are the only parts of the actual building that have been completed – but, at around 10 metres by 15 metres, it is the most detailed model of the museum yet produced.

Unlike the much smaller model that has been on display in the Emirates Palace hotel, the new version gives viewers a detailed look at the museum’s atriums and exhibition galleries.

The model was shipped directly from the architect Frank Gehry’s office in Los Angeles and has been on display at the Manarat Al Saadiyat on Saadiyat island since then, but tomorrow at 8pm the exhibit closes.

After that, it is not known when or where the public might have the next chance to see it. The Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC), the master developer of Saadiyat, has hinted, however, that the wait may not be more than a few days.

Abu Dhabi’s Guggenheim, due to open in late 2013 or early 2014, will have more than 13,000 square metres of gallery space.

The museum is part of the first phase of TDIC’s plans for the island, which will also be home to the Louvre Abu Dhabi and the Sheikh Zayed National Museum.

The 270-hectare cultural district, which occupies about 10 per cent of the island, is expected to attract 1.5 million visitors a year once finished in 2018, according to a study by the US-based consultancy Booz Allen Hamilton in 2006.

The second phase of the district will include a maritime museum and a performing arts centre.

When the project was announced in 2006, Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, the chairman of TDIC, said the island was expected to attract about Dh100bn in investment, while infrastructure costs would be about Dh5.5bn.

The National

[Parisian Girl]

The concrete works involve concrete slabs, retaining walls, columns and beams

By Joseph George | Published Monday, October 11, 2010


Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Museum will be located in the Saadiyat Island Cultural District Project. (SUPPLIED)

Abu Dhabi’s Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC) has invited contractors to apply for prequalification tenders for the concrete works of Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Museum.

The concrete works will involve excavation, filling, waterproofing and construction of up to 120,000 cubic metres of reinforced concrete slabs, retaining walls, columns and beams.

Located on the Saadiyat Island, it approximately has 13,000 square metres of permanent and temporary exhibition space and is the largest museum in the Cultural District.

The piling work started in August and is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2011. The placement of the 1,400 piles is being carried out by the joint venture of Al Habtoor and HSSG.

Applicants must be a major registered construction company with representation in Abu Dhabi with a minimum annual company turnover of Dh700 million during the past three years. The applicant should also have successfully completed five projects in excess of Dh200m within the UAE during the past three years and demonstrate their recent record of successful delivery of relevant construction projects.

Contractors who meet the criteria can register their interest and request a pre-qualification document at guggenheimabudhabi@tdic.ae before October 17. The document should be collected before October 27.

Saadiyat Island Cultural District Project, which is scheduled for completion in 2013, also includes Louvre Abu Dhabi and Zayed National Museum.

The Frank Gehry designed Guggenheim Museum in Abu Dhabi will be the largest Guggenheim at 30,000 square metres and will be built at an estimated cost of $400m.

Emirates 24|7