The travails and bold aims of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi
It intends to retell the story of modernism
THE JAGGED towers and palm-fringed walkways of the proposed Guggenheim Abu Dhabi (GAD) take their inspiration from the wooden sailing dhows that ply the waters of the Gulf and the funnel-shaped wind towers, known as barjeel, built to bring natural ventilation into old houses in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Designed by Frank Gehry, the project has been beset by protests over workers’ conditions and other human-rights issues, and by finance-induced delays and cancelled contracts. Now, ten years after clearance of the site began, work has restarted at last.
This article appeared in the Culture section of the print edition under the headline “Brave new worlds”
From the November 20th 2021 edition
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