"Mecanoo's design takes direct cues from the geological forms that structure the region. The architecture is conceived as a cluster of sculpted volumes that echo eroded rock formations, using geometry as the underlying language of the project. Pentagonal shapes, reminiscent of cellular structures and naturally occurring crystal patterns, repeat across the exterior and interior surfaces, setting up a visual system that links micro and macro scales of the natural world."
"The narrative unfolds from the origins of the universe to the ecological futures we are shaping today. Early galleries spotlight the natural history of the Emirates and surrounding region, reconstructing a seven-million-year-old savannah-like environment once populated by now-extinct species, including a four-tusked giant elephant, which is displayed as part of the permanent collection. These scenes anchor the global story of natural history within the specific climatic shifts and geological legacies of the Arabian Peninsula."
Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi opens on November 22, 2025 in Saadiyat Cultural District. Mecanoo designed the 35,000-square-meter museum to trace 13.8 billion years of cosmic and earthly evolution through an Arabian lens. The museum positions itself as the largest natural history museum in the Middle East and presents world-first paleontological displays, including two Tyrannosaurus rex skeletons in a prehistoric battle and the first exhibition of a five-species sauropod herd. Architectural concept draws on regional geological forms with sculpted volumes and repeating pentagonal geometry that links micro and macro natural systems. Early galleries reconstruct Emirati natural history, including a seven-million-year-old savannah and a four-tusked giant elephant.
Read at designboom | architecture & design magazine
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