Abu Dhabi, January 31st, 2007 (WAM)- General Sheikh Mohammedbin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy SupremeCommander of the UAE Armed Forces, today unveiled designs ofthree museums and an arts centre to be established in SaadiyatIsland.

The concept designs were unveiled at the Emirates PalaceHotel here at a special exhibition attended also by Lt. GeneralSheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Interior, SheikhAbdullah bin Zayed, Foreign Minister, Khaldoun Mubarak, Chairmanof Abu Dhabi Executive Affairs Authority, besides diplomats andcultural figures.

The commissioned designs are for iconic museums and a performingarts centre which will position the UAE capital's Saadiyat Island,that lies just offshore the emirate, as a world-class culturaldestination.

"Saadiyat Island demonstrates the vision of His Highness SheikhKhalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emiratesand Ruler of Abu Dhabi, to further establish Abu Dhabi's positionas a destination of international standing," said Sheikh Mohammedbin Zayed.

'The aim of Saadiyat Island must be to create a cultural assetfor the world, a gateway and beacon for cultural experience andexchange. Culture crosses all boundaries and therefore Saadiyatwill belong to the people of the UAE, the greater Middle Eastand the world at large," He added.

In addition to the museums and a performing arts centre forwhich concept designs have been presented, Saadiyat Island'sCultural District will also feature the Sheikh Zayed NationalMuseum - a museum devoted to the history and traditions of AbuDhabi and the legacy of the emirate's much-admired late rulerHis Highness Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who was alsothe first President of the United Arab Emirates and often referredto as 'The Father Of The Nation.' 'It is our intention to shortly embark on an internationalcompetition for the design of the Sheikh Zayed National Museumwhich reflects the importance and centrality we place on thisfacility," explained Sheikh Sultan Bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, Chairmanof Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) and TDIC.

'This museum will pay tribute to our grandfathers and ancestorswho left a wealth of cultural heritage that we are proud of.

Within the Sheikh Zayed National Museum we shall conserve thisheritage and build on it, as it is the soul of this land andits future generations.' Four of the world's most renowned architects - Frank Gehry,Jean Nouvel, Tadao Ando and Zaha Hadid- have presented designscommissioned by Abu Dhabi's Tourism Development & InvestmentCompany (TDIC) All four architects are international award-winners with threebeing holders of the coveted Pritzker Prize - the highest honourwithin the architectural discipline.

Frank Gehry is designing the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi - a contemporaryart museum, which will be the only one of its kind in the MiddleEast, the British/Iraqi born architect Zaha Hadid is designingSaadiyat's Performing Arts Centre, which will present the finestin music, theatre and dance, Jean Nouvel of France is designingthe Classical Museum, while Japan's Tadao Ando is designing theMaritime Museum which will reflect the rich maritime historyof the UAE and the Arabian Gulf.

The Gehry concept for the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Museum, whichat 320,000 square feet will be the world's largest Guggenheimmuseum, is designed around accommodating approximately 130,000square feet of exhibition space. It will feature permanent collections,galleries for special exhibitions, a centre for art and technology,a children's art education facility, archives, library and researchcentre and a state-of-the-art conservation laboratory.

'Approaching the design of the museum for Abu Dhabi made itpossible to consider options for design of a building that wouldnot be possible in the United States or in Europe,' said Gehry.

'It was clear from the beginning that this had to be a new invention.

The landscape, the opportunity, the requirement, to build somethingthat people all over the world would come to and the possibleresource to accomplish it opened tracks that were not likelyto be considered anywhere else. The site itself, virtually onthe water or close to the water on all sides, in a desert landscapewith the beautiful sea and the light quality of the place suggestedsome of the direction.' In the Gehry design, four storeys of central core galleriesare laid out around a courtyard. 'These will be more classicalcontemporary galleries, completely air conditioned with skylightswhere possible and a sophisticated lighting system,' said Gehry.

Two more rings of galleries span out from the core.

'The third ring is for larger galleries, built more like rawindustrial space with exposed lighting and systems. They wouldbe less finished. These galleries will be attractive as spawninghomes for a new scale of contemporary art - art that would be,perhaps, made on site and of a scale that could not be achievedin the normally organised museums around the world.' In Hadid's Performing Arts Centre concept, a 62 metre highbuilding is proposed housing five theatres - a music hall, concerthall, opera house, drama theatre and a flexible theatre witha combined seating capacity for 6,300 - that's 1,100 more thanLondon's Royal Albert Hall. The Centre may also house an Academyof Performing Arts.

'As it winds through the site, the architecture increasesin complexity, building up height and depth and achieving multiplesummits in the bodies housing the performance spaces, which springfrom the structure like fruits on a vine and face westward, towardthe water,' explained Hadid.

'The building becomes part of an inclining ensemble of structuresthat stretch from the Maritime Museum at its southern end tothe Guggenheim Abu Dhabi at the northern tip. With its centreof mass at the water's edge, the Performing Arts Centre focusesits volume along the central axis of the site. This arrangementinterrupts the block matrix at the Arterial Road, opening viewsto the sea and the skyline of Abu Dhabi.

'The concert hall is above the lower four theatres, allowingdaylight into its interior and dramatic views of the sea andcity skyline from the huge window behind the stage. Local lobbiesfor each theatre are orientated towards the sea to give eachvisitor a constant visual contact with their surroundings.' Nouvel's design concept for the Classical Museum owes muchto Saadiyat's natural surroundings.

'The island offers a harsh landscape, tempered by its meetingwith the channel, a striking image of the aridity of the earthversus the fluidity of the waters,' said Nouvel. 'These firedthe imagination towards unknown cities buried deep into the sandsor sunk under water. These dreamy thoughts have merged into asimple plan of an archaeological field revived as a small city,a cluster of nearly one-row buildings along a leisurely promenade.

'This micro-city requires a micro-climate that would givethe visitor a feeling of entering a different world. The buildingis covered with a large dome, a form common to all civilisations.

This one is made of a web of different patterns interlaced intoa translucent ceiling which lets a diffuse, magical light comethrough in the best tradition of great Arabian architecture.

Water is given a crucial role, both in reflecting every partof the building and acting as a psyche, and in creating, witha little help from the wind, a comfortable micro-climate.' Ando's Maritime Museum concept takes its inspiration fromAbu Dhabi's natural surroundings, landscape and maritime traditions.

It has a reflective surface visually merging sea and land. Itsship-like interior has floating decks which guide visitors throughthe exhibition space.

'Dhows float over the voids of the interior space and helpcreate an intense visual experience by relating objects to oneanother and to the museum architecture as a whole,' explainedAndo. 'Below ground, there is a second space - a reception hallwith an enormous aquarium. A traditional dhow floats over theaquarium and is seen from different perspectives.

'In order to emphasise the simple, but powerful, shape ofthe building, the surrounding landscape is organised in gridform. Rows of trees line the forecourt of the site, creatingan oasis-like border that allows visitors to transition graduallybetween the dynamic city and the more serene and contemplativespace of the museum.' One of the world's most experienced museum consultants, LordCultural Resources, has been appointed to plan content and operationalmatters for the Sheikh Zayed National Museum and the MaritimeMuseum.

The USA-headquartered award-winning architecture, urban design,engineering and interiors firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP(SOM) has created the final master plan for the Cultural District.

Saadiyat Island's Cultural District - one of six distinctdistricts master planned for the signature destination - willalso feature a Biennale Park and 19 international pavilions whichwill be criss-crossed by a 1.5 kilometre long navigable canal.

The 19 pavilions, which will host a range of art and culturalevents and activities, will be designed by some of today's leadingarchitects. These include UAE's Khalid Alnajjar Russia's YuriAvvakumov, the USA's Greg Lynn whom Forbes Magazine named oneof the ten most influential living architects, New York's HaniRashid, the UK's David Adjaye, China's Pei-Zhu and Korea's SeungH-Sang.

'It is also our long-term ambition to develop a creative campusof graduate schools in the fine arts within Saadiyat Island'sCultural District,' said Sheikh Sultan. 'These will be devotedto art, architecture, music and drama. Special attention willalso be given to developing educational outreach programmes forthe youth of the entire Gulf region.'