SPEAKING OF FAMOUS ARCHITECTURE, A NEW MASTERPIECE WAS CONSTRUCTED IN ABU DHABI.
ABU DHABI IS THE CAPITAL CITY OF THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND IS NOW HOME TO THE LOUVRE ABU DHABI, A MUSEUM FULL OF AMAZING ART WORKS AND ARTIFACTS.
IT SHARES THE NAME OF LOUVRE WITH THE LARGEST AND PERHAPS MOST FAMOUS ART MUSEUM IN THE WORLD WHICH IS LOCATED IN PARIS, FRANCE. THE NEW MUSEUM’S ARCHITECT JEAN NOUVEL WANTED THE BUILDING ITSELF TO BE A WORK OF ART. BECKY ANDERSON REPORTS:
VOICE OF JEAN NOUVEL, ARCHITECT: "WHEN I ARRIVED… IT WAS ONLY THE SEA, SUN, AND THE SKY. I WANTED TO CREATE THE MUSEUM BELONGING TO THIS CIVILIZATION, BELONGING TO THIS COUNTRY, BELONGING TO HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY."
BECKY: IT'S ALREADY ONE OF THE CITY AS MOST ICONIC BUILDINGS.
A MANMADE ISLAND BUILT OFF AN ISLAND. THE CENTERPIECE DOME VISIBLE FOR MILES, DAY OR NIGHT. THIS IS THE MAN BEHIND THE LOUVRE ABU DHABI'S DESIGN: AWARD WINNING FRENCH ARCHITECT JOHN NOUVEL. HIS INSPIRATION? THE DOMES IN GEOMETRIC PATTERN SO COMMON IN ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE. NOUVEL'S ORIGINAL VISION, HE SAYS, HAD TO REFLECT THE AMBITIONS OF THE CITY ITSELF.
JEAN NOUVEL, ARCHITECT: "ABU DHABI IS A VERY POWERFUL CITY NOW WITH A LOT OF WALLS IN THE LAST YEARS, WITH A STRONG ECONOMY AND LIKE IN EVERY EPOCH IN ARCHITECTURE WHEN THE CITY REFLECTS THE SITUATION OF THIS GROWING EPOCH."
BECKY: CONSTRUCTION WAS NO EASY FEAT IN THE UAE'S HARSH CLIMATE. THEY HAD TO HOIST THE MASSIVE DOME ON TO FOUR CONCRETE PIERS. ALL 7,500 TONS OF STEEL. THE ENTIRE AREA WAS WATERPROOFED, THEN FLOODED TO CREATE THE ISLAND.
BECKY ANDERSON, ABU DHABI: "AND THE RESULTS? WELL, SEE FOR YOURSELF. IT'S ABSOLUTELY SPECTACULAR. A MUSEUM THAT FEELS MORE LIKE A SMALL CITY. 55 BUILDINGS AND GALLERIES BUILT ALONGSIDE THE SEA. AND THE DOME HERE SHADES EVERYTHING. DOWN HERE MAKING IT A LOT COOLER INSIDE THE LOUVRE ABU DHABI THAN IT IS OUTSIDE."
BECKY: NOUVEL LIKENS IT TO PALM FROND COVER IN AN OASIS.
THE PERFORATED STEEL LETS SOME SUNLIGHT THROUGH CREATING NOUVEL'S SIGNATURE RAIN OF LIGHT.
JEAN NOUVEL, ARCHITECT: "I IMAGINE TO HAVE DIFFERENT LAYERS IN THE DOME AND ONE RAY OF LIGHT TO COME THROUGH, AND SOMETIMES, OF COURSE, ONE SPOT DISAPPEARS, BUT AT THE SAME TIME ANOTHER APPEARS."
BECKY: NOUVEL ALSO OVERSAW THE DESIGN OF EVERY GALLERY FROM THE SEATING TO THE DISPLAYS. MANY ARE CALLING THE PROJECT HIS MASTERPIECE.
NICOLAI OUROUSSOFF, PROFESSOR, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: "I THINK THAT THE LOUVRE ABU DHABI WILL RANK AS ONE OF THE GREAT BUILDINGS FOR SURE."
NOT THAT THIS 72-YEAR-OLD THINKS ABOUT THINGS LIKE THAT. HE'S ALREADY WON ARCHITECTURES' TOP PRIZE. NOUVEL CALLS EACH PROJECT AN ADVENTURE. A SOULFUL EXPRESSION OF IDENTITY.
JEAN NOUVEL, ARCHITECT: "EVERY PROJECT IS LIKE A WRITER WITH A LITTLE POEM YOU CAN DO A MASTERPIECE."
SIZE AND SCALE DON'T MAKE IT ART, NOUVEL SAYS. IT'S THE CONTENT WITHIN.
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