When they are finally completed, both the Louvre Abu Dhabi and theGuggenheim Abu Dhabi will be almost entirely surrounded by water. Perched on the eastern rim of Saadiyat Island – a monumental £18bn complex that seeks to turn the capital of the United Arab Emirates into a global cultural hub – they will look like fantastical chrome-and-glass atolls, constructions that could have dropped from space to dock on Abu Dhabi’s shores. Like all statements of power, they suggest an imperviousness to misfortune elsewhere, floating serenely above the threat of climate change and rising sea levels. Nothing captures the strange ambition of these museums better than their location on the edge of Abu Dhabi, tenuously attached to the mainland by textured steel.
Saadiyat Island promises to be a highbrow and high-rolling amusement park, a place to park your yacht or toddle from green to green in close proximity to some of the world’s most celebrated art. Its additional frills are a performance space designed by Zaha Hadid, a marina, a golf course, exclusive villas and luxury hotels.
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