Zayed National Museum ( ar, مَتْحَف زَايِد ٱلْوَطَنِي, Matḥaf Zāyid Al-Waṭanī) is a planned museum, to be located in
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area.
...
, the
UAE
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
. It is designed as a memorial to the late
Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan ( ar, زَايِد بِن سُلْطَان آل نَهْيَان, Zāyed bin Sulṭān Āl Nahyān; 6 May 1918 – 2 November 2004) was an Emirati politician, statesman, and philanthropist who served as ...
, the founding father and first
president of the UAE
The president of the United Arab Emirates, or the Raʾīs ( ar, رَئِيْس), is the head of state of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The president and vice-president are elected every five years by the Federal Supreme Council. Though the ...
.
The museum is planned to be the centrepiece of the
Saadiyat Island Cultural District, and will showcase the history, culture, and economic transformation of the Emirates.
In 2021, it was announced that the construction, which was interrupted after
Arabtec
Arabtec Holding PJSC, was Dubai's most heavily traded and largest construction group in GCC, together with its subsidiaries, provided construction services for residential, commercial, oil and gas, infrastructure, power, facilities management, and ...
ceased operations, would be taken over by the companies
BESIX Group
BESIX Group is a construction group based in Brussels, one of the world's leading international contractors according to the ENR ranking. Active since 1909, BESIX operates in Europe, the Middle East, Oceania, Africa, North America and Asia.
Its ...
and Trojan Contracting. The museum is currently under construction and as of November 2021, its opening date is scheduled for 2025.
History
The museum has been designed by
Foster + Partners
Foster + Partners is a British architectural, engineering, and integrated design practice founded in 1967 as Foster Associates by Norman Foster. It is the largest architectural firm in the UK with over 1,500 employees in 13 studios worldwide.
...
with five solar thermal towers that will act as chimneys to draw cool air through the building.
The towers are shaped like falcon wings to commemorate Zayed's love of
falconry
Falconry is the hunting of wild animals in their natural state and habitat by means of a trained bird of prey. Small animals are hunted; squirrels and rabbits often fall prey to these birds. Two traditional terms are used to describe a person ...
.
In 2009, the Zayed National Museum signed a ten-year contract with the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
. The British Museum would assist with curation and loan about 500 of its treasures to the Zayed National Museum. According to ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', the British Museum thinks that it is unlikely that any items will be loaned under the current contract, which ends in 2019. In June 2018, a new partnership was announced between the British Museum and Zayed National Museum.
In July 2019, the
archaeologist
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
Dr. Peter Magee was appointed Director.
Its opening has been delayed many times. Scheduled to be complete in 2012,
the opening was delayed to 2013,
and later 2021.
As of November 2021, the museum is still under construction, with anticipated opening in 2025, coinciding with the opening of the
Guggenheim Abu Dhabi
The Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is a planned art museum, to be located in Saadiyat Island cultural district in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Upon completion, it is planned to be the largest of the Guggenheim museums. Architect Frank Gehry designed th ...
.
References
External links
Official website
{{Authority control
Buildings and structures under construction in Abu Dhabi
Museums in Abu Dhabi
National museums of the United Arab Emirates
Foster and Partners buildings
Proposed museums
Saadiyat IslandZayed National Museum official Instagram