This occasional series offers a personal view of life in Abu Dhabi in list form – five aspects of Abu Dhabi per list. This month: good buildings that haven’t yet been finished but probably will be (definitely will be, in four of the five examples).
1. Louvre Abu Dhabi
The art should be great, but the building itself will be worth the trip to Saadiyat Island. Jean Nouvel has designed a webpatterned dome that lets the sun filter through, not unlike sunlight passing through palm fronds in an oasis. It’s due to open in 2012. Get along to the Emirate Palace exhibition to check out all the Saadiyat developments.
2. Yas Marina Hotel
This is the cloud-like structure already visible from the mainland, a 500-room five-star hotel covered with a grid of glazing and designed by the very hip Asymptote. And the F1 grand prix track runs right through the middle. Very cool.
3. Hyatt Capital Gate
This is the world’s most leaning building, halfway to its finished height and already quite dramatic in its inclination. And it’s next to our offices, so we can keep a daily eye on progress.
4. Aldar headquarters
This is the stunning disc so prominently located in Al Raha Beach. It’s already been named Best Futuristic Design – 110 metres high, 5,700 tonnes of steel, 25,000 cubic metres of concrete and the same again of glass. And it looks like a shiny Smartie. Fab.
5. Helix Hotel
This one is furthest away from being built, but it would be a shame if it doesn’t make it – it’s destined for Zayed Bay (the redeveloped port area) and it doesn’t have conventional same-size floors. Instead it spirals like sections of a corkscrew around a hollow centre; from the side it looks like a roughly stacked pile of discs. Lots of greenness about it, too.
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[Originally published in Abu Dhabi Week vol 2 issue 24]
