博物館の空間はマウンドの内部に配置されており、その外装には質感のある多面体のパネルが用いられています。これらのパネルは、UAEの地形を抽象化したものです。マウンドは内部空間を日射による熱取得から断熱し、建物への熱の侵入を防ぐ保護シールドを形成しています。来館者が博物館の中に足を踏み入れると、彼らは光に満ちたアトリウム、すなわち「アル・リワン」に入ります。そこは、来館者の交流や案内のための空間として機能し、伝統舞踊や詩の朗読といったパフォーマンスも行われます。

6つの常設ギャラリーのうち、4つのカプセル状のギャラリーはアル・リワンの上部に吊り下げられており、展示されている繊細な遺物を保護するために管理された環境を提供しています。タワーの三重積層ガラスは、ロビーやギャラリースペースに入る日光の量を調整します。このガラスには高密度のメッシュ中間層が含まれており、各カプセルには、外光の強さに応じて透明度が変化するエレクトロクロミックガラス製のトップライトが備えられています。

それぞれのカプセル状のギャラリーは特定のテーマを反映するようにキュレーションされており、それらをつなぐ結節空間が、全体を関連づける文脈情報を提供しています。来館者は複数のギャラリーを通って自分のルートを自由に選ぶことができ、彫刻的な螺旋階段またはエレベーターを使って上階へ進むことができます。地上階には、博物館のエントランス付近にある2つの常設ギャラリースペースに加えて、企画展示スペース、高級レストラン、カフェも設けられています。

博物館の建物の外には、建物を海岸と結ぶアル・マサール・ガーデンがあり、そこにはシェイク・ザイードの自然への愛が表現されています。景観と文化遺産を融合させたこの庭園は、地域社会の新たな資産として構想されており、交流、遊び、思索のための空間を備えています。来館者はまた、地上階からスチール製のタワーの基部に位置するマウンド頂上の展望デッキへと続く日陰のルートを歩くよう案内されており、そこから周囲の景観を一望することができます。

使用されている素材は、地域の環境と調和し、7つの首長国にわたる歴史的建築物を反映するよう慎重に選定されています。また、場所ごとに異なる砂の色の変化を映し出しています。この伝統を踏まえ、博物館の外観と内部空間の両方が、サディヤット島に見られる独特の温かみのある白っぽい砂の色合いを反映しています。

このプロジェクトは、アブダビ文化観光局との緊密な協力のもとで実現されました。

以下の写真はクリックで拡大します

以下、リリーステキストです。

Zayed National Museum in Abu Dhabi completes

Zayed National Museum has opened its doors to the public. Located at the heart of the Saadiyat Cultural District in Abu Dhabi, the new national museum of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) traces the history of the Emirates, from the earliest evidence of human habitation to the civilisations that shaped its culture and identity, rooted in the values of the UAE’s Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. The building’s form addresses the challenge of sustaining life in a desert environment and the strong cultural traditions of the UAE.

Norman Foster, Founder and Executive Chairman, Foster + Partners, said: “Zayed National Museum tells the story of Sheikh Zayed’s creation of the Emirates and the many facets of his legacy, including his vision of greening the desert. The building itself is an expression of sustainability, with five aerodynamic wings that are an integral part of the environmental system, acting as thermal chimneys and drawing cool air through the public spaces. They are also symbolic of Sheikh Zayed’s love of the traditional sport of falconry and have become markers on the city skyline.”

His Excellency Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, said: “Zayed National Museum gives our nation’s story a permanent home. Our national museum serves to preserve and share our past while connecting generations. It is where our children and grandchildren will discover the values that built this country: unity, humility, openness, and respect for heritage. These are lived principles that continue to guide us, and when visitors from around the world walk through these galleries, they will gain a deeper understanding of the United Arab Emirates – past, present and future.”

Gerard Evenden, Head of Studio, Foster + Partners, said: “This project has allowed us to realise – on a grand scale – many of the issues relating to architecture and sustainable design that have been central to the practice’s work for decades. It has been a pleasure to collaborate with such visionary stakeholders, whose extensive knowledge of the region grounded our work.”

The museum’s five lightweight steel wings are part of the system of natural ventilation. Air vents open at the top of the towers, taking advantage of the negative pressure on the lee-side of the profile to draw hot air out from the atrium, assisted by the thermal effect of the heat build-up on the tips of the wings. Air that has been naturally cooled through pipes buried deep below the desert floor then flows into the atrium through a low-level ventilation system. The wings are glazed to channel natural light into the galleries below, and each one is individually tuneable.

The museum spaces are located within a mound, which has textured faceted panels that are an abstraction of the UAE’s topography. The mound insulates the interior spaces from solar gain, forming a protective shield that prevents heat from entering the building. When visitors step inside the museum, they enter the light-filled atrium, or Al Liwan, which serves as both a meeting and orientation space, hosting performances such as traditional dance and poetry.

Of the six permanent galleries, four pod-shaped galleries are suspended above Al Liwan, and provide controlled environments to protect the sensitive artefacts on display. The towers’ triple-laminated glazing moderates the amount of daylight entering the lobby and the gallery spaces. The glazing includes a dense mesh interlayer, and each pod has a rooflight made of electrochromic glass that changes its transparency in response to outside light levels.

Each of the pod-shaped galleries is curated to reflect a specific theme, while the connecting nodal spaces provide contextual information that tie them together. Visitors can choose their own route through the different galleries and make their way to the upper level via a sculptural spiral staircase or lifts. At ground level, there are also two more permanent gallery spaces that are near to the museum’s entrances, as well as a temporary exhibition space, a fine dining restaurant, and a cafe.

Outside the museum building, Sheikh Zayed’s love of nature is represented by the Al Masar Garden, which links the building to the coast. Integrating landscape and heritage, the garden is intended as a new community asset, with spaces for socialising, play, and reflection. Visitors are also invited to take a shaded route from ground level to a viewing platform at the top of the mound, at the base of the steel towers, which offers panoramic views of the surrounding area.

Materials have been carefully selected to resonate with the local surroundings and mirror historic buildings across the seven Emirates, which reflect the changing colour of the sand in different locations. Building on this tradition, both the museum’s exterior and its interior spaces mirror the distinctive warm-white shade of sand that is found on Saadiyat Island.

The project has been delivered in close collaboration with the Department of Culture and Tourism in Abu Dhabi.