Piling starts at Louvre Abu Dhabi

Piling works have started at the Jean Nouvel-designed Louvre Abu Dhabi on Saadiyat Island, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Work will continue over the following 20 weeks with Germany's Bauer International FZE driving a total of 5638 foundation piles; 4298 steel piles and 1340 concrete piles with a total linear length of 94.2km.

The Louvre Abu Dhabi will feature a 180 m-diameter dome and contain 8000 m2 of gallery space. Completion is expected in 2013.

The Louvre Abu Dhabi is the centrepiece Saadiyat Island's Cultural District, which will also include Norman Foster's Zayed National Museum, Frank Gehry's Guggenheim and projects by Zaha Hadid and Tadao Ando.