Construction of first gallery at the Louvre Abu Dhabi completed
Progress on site on schedule says deputy managing director of master developer behind cultural landmark
Construction work on the Louvre Abu Dhabi is well underway and set to be completed on schedule by the fourth quarter of 2015.
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Abu Dhabi’s Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC), the master developer behind the Louvre Abu Dhabi, has announced the completion of construction for the first gallery of the cultural project on Saadiyat Island.
Set for completion by the fourth quarter of 2015, the Louvre Abu Dhabi is set to be a cultural landmark, not just for Abu Dhabi and the UAE, but for the entire GCC region. The first completed gallery, which is one of the largest within the permanent galleries, comes a year after mobilisation on the ground had begun.
“We’re happy with where we are today. To date, more than 10 million man hours have been dedicated to Louvre Abu Dhabi, reflecting the amount of foundation work that the museum requires. Despite the challenging and complicated design, construction on the ground has been progressing steadily and on schedule. Over the course of the year, we’ve moved from construction at seven metres deep to above ground construction of the galleries,” said Ali Al Hammadi, deputy managing director at TDIC.
The majority of the concrete work for the museum’s basement levels have been completed, including underground buildings, such as the Energy Centre, which houses pumps, generators, transformers and similar building elements, and the Security Screening Facility, a highly secure seven-metre deep basement through which authorised vehicles will transport all the artwork for the museum.
A significant amount of work is well underway for the construction of the museum interior walls, along with the installation of mechanical plants, water pipes, electrical cabling and security systems, TDIC added in a statement.
More than 5,300 workers are currently on site, and around 117,000 cubic metres of concrete have been poured so far. Construction work on the galleries is progressing in parallel with the installation of the museum’s huge steel and aluminium dome, which features 85 steel segments that weigh between 30 and 70 tonnes each. To date, 20% of the dome’s structure has been put in place, with completion scheduled for September 2014.
For a full in-depth look at the construction progress of the Louvre Abu Dhabi, Big Project ME will be covering the cultural landmark in the April 2014 issue.
