How does one distill the identity and ambition of a country into a singular building? When it came to the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) new Zayed National Museum, architect Norman Foster took inspiration from the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the driving force behind the creation of the gulf state.
“He had a vision for what the UAE could be and believed in its potential as a place for driving innovation that was rooted in the heritage of its people,” says Foster, who, through an international competition, was awarded the project in 2007. “Our approach was driven by an exploration of a building’s role as a national museum, to honor the relationship between the landscape, setting, and cultural context, lensed through the values and character of the late Sheikh Zayed.”
Officially opened to the public on December 3, the building is located on Saadiyat Island, the UAE capital’s cultural nucleus, and counts as its neighbors the local outposts of the Louvre, unveiled in 2017, and the Guggenheim, now nearing completion. Zayed National Museum spans more than 600,000 square feet, spread across three levels plus a basement and additional facilities. Surrounding it are gardens featuring local flora, inspired by Sheikh Zayed’s efforts to re-green the nation, which have led to cloud seeding, vertical farming, and other agricultural innovations throughout the region.
Ranging from some 240 to 400 feet high, the building’s lightweight steel fins not only pay homage to falconry (a practice embedded in Emirati life for centuries) but also reinterpret the region’s traditional wind towers, used to cool interiors. “The design is a tailored environmental response to Abu Dhabi’s climate,” says Gerard Evenden, the head of studio at Foster + Partners. “The fins’ profiles assist with natural ventilation and control the amount of daylight entering the building. Air vents open at the top, taking advantage of the negative pressure on the lee side of the profile to draw the hot air out from the atrium.” Air that has been naturally cooled through pipes that are buried in the ground then flows through a low-level ventilation system.
The central atrium, which will host meetings and performances, as well as the pod-shaped galleries and research labs, are all surrounded by a mound 100 feet tall. “This approach insulates the building from solar gain, forming a protective shield that prevents heat from entering the space,” explains Evenden. “It also features large overhangs to provide shade to the building’s perimeter and walkways.” The textured exterior is an abstraction of the topography of the Jebel Hafeet mountain range that skirts the UAE–Oman border.
Inside the museum, over 300,000 years of human history unfold across six permanent galleries with remarkable finds from the Paleolithic, Neolithic, Bronze, and Iron Ages shedding light on the life and ways of the UAE’s earliest communities. “We started working on the collection 12 years ago,” says Moaza Matar, the acting director of the museum’s Curatorial & Collection Management Department. “Whether it’s the Rudist bivalve, a fossilized clam dating back more than 70 million years, or a souvenir passport used during Expo 2020 Dubai, each item represents a fragment of the country’s rich and fascinating story.”
On display for the project’s opening phases are more than 1,500 pieces that endeavor to challenge outdated perceptions and spotlight the region’s multifaceted cultural legacy. “Research and education are key to the museum’s mission and play an important role in ensuring the institution remains dynamic,” explains Peter Magee, the museum’s director. One example is the world’s largest reconstruction of a Bronze Age Magan boat, which set sail off the coast of Abu Dhabi in 2024. Other highlights include the 8,000-year-old Abu Dhabi Pearl; the striking Blue Qur’an from 800–900 CE; and a remarkable collection of jewelry that traces creativity, trade, and cultural exchange over the centuries.
Nurtured by a traditional falaj irrigation system, the Al Masar Garden, a nearly 2,000-foot-long outdoor gallery, honors the ingenuity of generations who lived on and cared for the land.
“From the outset, we were deeply inspired by the local communities that tamed the harsh climate of the desert,” says Evenden. “Pushing the boundaries of design to create a museum that is driven by environmental principles and acts as an extension of its place has allowed us to realize—on a grand scale—many of the issues relating to architecture and sustainable design that have been driving our practice since the 1970s.”
This story appears in the AD100 issue. Never miss a story when you subscribe to AD.
