Architecture and Wave Defence, the Louvre Abu Dhabi

The challenge of the Louvre Abu Dhabi: a museum to house priceless art and millions of visitors, yet surrounded on all sides by water and exposed to the waves, tides, currents, and caustic saltwater environment of the Gulf. With all elements of the building, including its sea and wave defences, defined by the modernist architectural vision of Ateliers Jean Nouvel, this paper describes coastal engineering as art; an architectural vision made possible by the collaborative working of architect and coastal engineer. The design process that resulted in the completed forms is described, highlighting the advantages of a flexible and iterative approach to standard coastal engineering practice.

Only partially sheltered from the deepwater waves from the north, the wave attack results from the generating effect of the shamal winds on the full fetch length of the Gulf. When in combination with elevated water level, exacerbated by sea level rise, these waves threatened the viability of the architectural vision for exposed terraces close to mean sea level. These conditions demanded a form of nearshore or ‘near building’ wave defence. Through early design workshops with the architect the concept of detached blockwork breakwaters, intended to resemble a hidden archaeology emerging from the sea, was developed and embraced by all. This was subsequently developed and augmented using empirical assessment to also include a series of secondary wave defence features, including tidal pools, terrace parapets and voided steps. The design was then optimised and validated by physical wave modelling.

This paper provides an overview of the coastal engineering design process, starting with the architectural concept and working through to construction in 2015/2016.