JEAN NOUVEL: LEAVES

2008 Pritzker Prize winner, and visionary, Jean Nouvel has designed this dome like wonder to house the Louvre Museum in Abu Dahbi. This extension of the Louvre in Paris has come to us two years earlier than then original expected completion date. The exact location of the establishment is on the Saadiyat Island Complex, and is approximately 260,000 square feet.

Jean Nouvel’s explained that his design intent was to represent “rays of sunlight passing through date palm fronds in an oasis.” What derived from this concept is a seemingly floating dome structure over a “city” of small buildings, structures, sculptures, streets, and walkways. The dome seems to be conserving the structures below it, which parallels the fundamentals of the Louvre: a museum, which exhibits what is conserved.

The leaf-like wholes that are cut into the dome release the light above creating a light shower effect. The structures throughout the museum are white, which allows the natural light to seem through the holes and paint them. Enjoy!