Louvre Abu Dhabi | ‘rain of light’ under the dome of Louvre Abu Dhabi.

‪@Abu-Dhabi‬
Pritzker Prize award winning architect Jean Nouvel had a vision to create a unique ‘rain of light’ under the dome of Louvre Abu Dhabi.
The objective was to create a complex filter of the intensely bright desert sun, to create a dancing interplay between light and shadow around the galleries, plazas and reflecting pools.
The dome is open to the elements, and it was important to have more natural light directed over the galleries, with more shadow over the pools and public walkways. Special glass was installed in the windows and ceilings of the galleries to ensure the artwork would be protected from the damaging effects of direct sunlight. There are three layers of blinds built into the glass - two diffusers and one black out blind. The blinds operate automatically depending on the time of day, time of year and how much sun light is present.
Sunlight passes through all eight layers of the cladding. However, to achieve the dancing rain effect, each possible path of light was carefully calculated and redirected. The stars, which are composed of aluminium and steel, are purposely built in slim, medium, wide and mixed dimensions of thickness to guide the streams of light. The sun’s rays initially pass through two openings in the dome, before being blocked by a third layer. However the ray of light soon travels on as the position of the sun changes and the reflective elements of the cladding finishes redirect the light within the museum complex. Thus the ‘taches de lumiere’ or spots of sunlight appear, disappear, grow in size, or diminish, shimmering over the walls, floors and pools. Through years of hard work and exacting science we have created new lighting effects that have never been realised before.
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