Architect Nouvel Presents Domed Design for Abu Dhabi Museum

Jan. 31 (Bloomberg) -- French architect Jean Nouvel presented
his design for an Abu Dhabi museum, made up of a cluster of low
buildings under a dome, to house artworks on loan from France.

Nouvel, the architect of the Quai Branly museum of primitive
art in Paris, said his design was inspired by the contrast between
the desert and the sea at Saadiyat Island, 500 meters off the Abu
Dhabi coast and the planned home for the new museum complex. The
design reflects ``unknown cities buried deep into the sands or
sunk under water,'' Nouvel said today in a statement.

Under plans announced last year, France will lend the name of
the Louvre to the Abu Dhabi museum for 20 years. The proposal has
sparked protests, with more than 3,900 people signing a petition
against what they call a pawning of French cultural heritage.

The agreement would be a first for French museums, which are
exploring new ways to increase revenue while presenting their art
treasures to an ever-wider public. The French Culture Ministry
declined to comment on the Nouvel design until its contract with
United Arab Emirates is sealed. Culture Minister Renaud Donnedieu
de Vabres told France's National Assembly on Jan. 17 that the
accord is a way to extend France's cultural image abroad.