On April 15th, several students from "building construction class" visited the Mock-up dome of Jean Nouvel's Museum Project in Abu Dhabi / Saadiyat Island. The group have been invited by the Abu Dhabi developing group "TDIC", which is responsible for the whole development of Saadiyat Island.
When entering the Dome it was highly interesting to see, that the concept of Nouvel, which he showed very impressing in his renderings for the project, works in the 1:1 scale as perfect as in the drawings. The light, an integral part of Nouvel's idea, penetrates the skin of the Dome and creates an unique light-atmosphere, which can only be found in this country, due to the almost slightly sandy air. The game of light and shadow on the groundfloor, created by this penetration, is marvelous to see, especially its spatial and geometrical changing due to the move of the sun.
The PR text describes it and the mock-up above:
"A key design element of the Louvre Abu Dhabi will be its great dome, 180 meters (almost 600 feet) in diameter, floating above a cluster of buildings and waterways. Perforated by interlaced patterns, the dome will let a diffused light filter magically into the spaces below. The prototype, 6 meters (approximately 20 feet) in diameter, is being used to test the play of light and shadows on the site prior to fabrication of the final structure"
