Gulf Construction Online - Museums in the making

Abu Dhabi

teamLab Phenomena Abu Dhabi is expected to be a major tourist attraction and educational resource.

Museums in the making

01 August 2023

Construction work is currently in progress at Saadiyat Cultural District on two architecturally-striking museums, which are being developed by the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) and Miral, Abu Dhabi’s leading creator of immersive destinations and experiences.

These include teamLab Phenomena Abu Dhabi, a new ground-breaking multi-sensory attraction that aims to create an immersive and interactive art experience, and the Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi, which is anticipated to be the largest of its kind in the region.

The Saadiyat Cultural District is already home to a number of cultural institutions, including the renowned Louvre Abu Dhabi and the Abrahamic Family House, which comprises a mosque, a synagogue and a church within one shared space, to inspire and nurture peaceful coexistence among people of all faiths.

Apart from the Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi and teamLab Phenomena Abu Dhabi, the district will soon welcome the Zayed National Museum, the national museum of the UAE; and Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, focusing on global modern and contemporary art, which are also under construction. When completed, Saadiyat is expects to offer the highest concentration of cultural experience in the world.

Some 25 per cent of the work on teamLab Phenomena was completed last November.

teamLab Phenomena

teamLab Phenomena Abu Dhabi is expected to be a major tourist attraction and educational resource. A partnership with teamLab, the globally acclaimed, interdisciplinary Tokyo-based art collective, the art museum is scheduled to be completed in 2024 and set to be an inspirational space at the intersection of art and technology, igniting curiosity, imagination, and creativity in all who visit.

The 17,000-sq-m museum has been conceived with installations that will be unique to Abu Dhabi. It will feature a series of immersive, interactive art installations that use a variety of technologies, including projection mapping, robotics, and artificial intelligence. Projection mapping will be used to create immersive, interactive experiences that allow visitors to interact with the art in new and unexpected ways. Robotics will be used to create moving sculptures and other interactive objects. Artificial intelligence will be used to create dynamic, ever-changing art installations that respond to the movements of visitors.

Visitors will be invited to open their minds and embark on a journey through teamLab’s new concept of Environmental Phenomena, which offers a new perspective on the world around us. The featured artworks are created and shaped by the environment which produces the various phenomena, and the unique architecture plays an important role in providing the artworks with an environment to evolve freely and organically, as if they were life-forms themselves.

The design of teamLab Phenomena Abu Dhabi is inspired by the natural world. The museum’s building is shaped like a series of interconnected pods that are covered in a flowing, organic pattern. The interior of the museum is designed to be as open and airy as possible, with large windows that let in natural light. The art installations themselves are designed to be interactive and engaging, and will be created by a team of over 50 artists from around the world.

An artist’s impression of the Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi

As part of Environmental Phenomena, the architecture for teamLab Phenomena has been designed both from the inside out and the outside in, creating a structure that wraps around experience as opposed to forcibly compressing it inside. In designing the structure, teamLab says it aimed to create an architecture in which both the internal and external are covered and connected by an organic architectural skin.

teamLab has created art that is part of the collection of global institutions such as the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles and the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney, amongst many others.

Alec, a UAE-based leading construction group which is the main contractor on the mega-project, began work on the museum in 2021. The museum’s building is being constructed using a variety of sustainable materials, including recycled steel and glass.

teamLab Phenomena Abu Dhabi is expected to have a significant impact on the cultural landscape of Abu Dhabi and will also be a valuable educational resource, providing visitors with a unique opportunity to learn about the intersection of art, technology, and nature.

Work on the project reached 25 per cent completion last October.

Natural History Museum

Alec is also the main contractor on the Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi, which is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2025.

Allowing visitors to travel on a 14-billion-year journey through time and space – from the earliest origins of our universe to a thought-provoking perspective into our Earth’s future, the museum will be a scientific research and teaching institution and an educational resource for learning about the evolving story of our planet.

The Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi will feature some of the rarest natural history specimens ever found on planet Earth. A highlight of the new museum’s collection will be the world-famous skeleton of ‘Stan’, the Tyrannosaurus rex, the Murchison Meteorite specimen, and other spectacular collections as part of its curatorial vision, as well as fascinating experiences which will be created by a dedicated team in Abu Dhabi.

Covering an area of more than 35,000 sq m, the Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi has been designed by lead architects Mecanoo to resonate with natural rock formations, reflecting the museum’s goal of improving understanding of and engagement with the natural world.