The Louvre Abu Dhabi, the first museum to bear the Louvre name outside France, was inaugurated last month.

 The UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and President of France Emmanuel Macron, opened the museum.

 In attendance were King Mohammed VI of Morocco, His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain, President Mohammed Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan, and a host of guests representing several countries, Wam news agency said.

 An iconic architectural masterpiece designed by French architect Jean Nouvel, Louvre Abu Dhabi took over a decade in the making. The contract for the project was awarded to a joint venture led by UAE builder Arabtec along with Constructora San Jose and Oger Abu Dhabi in 2013.

 The museum is topped by an enormous signature dome (180-m-diameter) of overlapping geometric lattices that weigh more than 7,500 tonnes. The design of the cladding of the dome, which is the museum’s main feature, is inspired by the interlaced palm leaves traditionally used as roofing material in the UAE.

The roof’s complex pattern is the result of a highly studied geometric design, repeated at various sizes and angles in eight different layers, giving the dome a delicate form that leads to a magnificent ‘rain of light’ effect.

 On the iconic project, designer Nouvel said: “Louvre Abu Dhabi embodies an exceptional programme in the literal sense of the word. Its vocation is now to express what is universal throughout the ages. Its architecture makes it a place of convergence and correlation between the immense sky, the sea-horizon and the territory of the desert.

“Its dome and cupola imprint the space with the consciousness of time and of the moment through an evocative light of a spirituality that is its own.”

The massive dome is made up of four outer stainless steel layers and four inner layers, supported by a steel structure 5 m in height. These layers consist of 7,850 star-shaped pieces of aluminium and stainless steel, of various sizes and angles – the largest of which measures 13 m in diameter and weighs 1.3 tonnes.

 The dome, which was constructed over the span of 10 months, was originally built on top of 120 temporary towers as a way to support its weight during the construction process.

 It was then lifted atop its final position supported by only four concrete piers in a first-of-its-kind technique in the world of construction for a permanent structure of this scale and size.

The museum offers a new perspective on the history of art in a globalised world. It will have on display a rare collection that spans the history of humanity, arranged in a chronological journey from prehistory to the present day, encompassing 12 chapters including the birth of the first villages; universal religions; cosmography; the magnificence of the royal court; and the modern world.

Located on the waterfront in Abu Dhabi’s cultural district on Saadiyat Island, Louvre Abu Dhabi is the result of a unique collaboration between the UAE capital and France.