The construction of the new Guggenheim Museum in Abu Dhabi, designed by Frank Gehry, has begun

The Guggenheim Foundation has officially promised to complete the construction of one of the most famous long-term buildings in four years

12 years have passed since the project of the branch of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum of Contemporary Art in Abu Dhabi, developed by Frank Gehry's office, was unveiled. Now he has finally entered the active phase. This will be the fifth and largest branch of the New York museum: its area will be more than 42 square meters. The Emir of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khalifa ibn Zayed al-Nahyan, allocated more than half a billion euros for its construction.

After more than ten years since the project was announced, the construction of the Guggenheim Museum is finally going according to plan

Specific terms have not yet been named, however, the director of the fund, Richard Armstrong, confirmed that it will take about four years to complete the project. "We're on the right track, we have the budget and we're looking forward to starting construction," Armstrong told Euronews at the Abu Dhabi Culture Summit at the end of March this year. I believe that it will be about three and a half or four years, it is a large building, and its parts have a rather complex structure. It will take time."

This will be the largest of all existing Guggenheim Museums

The new Guggenheim Museum will be located on the northwestern tip of Saadiyat Island — a new cultural district off the coast of the capital of the UAE, claiming to be the main cultural center of the country. It has already become the home of a branch of the Louvre, created by Jean Nouvel, later they will be joined by the National Museum of the UAE from Foster + Partners, a futuristic performing arts center designed by Zaha Hadid Architects and the Tadao Ando Maritime Museum.

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Preparatory construction work began back in 2011, when 1400 concrete piles were poured, but since then little is known about the progress in their construction. After completion, the museum will include groups of galleries of different heights and shapes with works by such authors as James Turrell, Ernesto Neto or Monika Sosnovska. It is assumed that the branch in Abu Dhabi will have its own collection of works of art, but also masterpieces from other Guggenheim museums will periodically appear here. It will also have an art and technology center, a children's educational center, archives, a library and a research center, as well as an advanced restoration laboratory.