There’s good news on the horizon for design fans: the long-awaited Guggenheim Museum in Abu Dhabi looks all set to open in 2025. With legendary architect and design extraordinaire Frank Gehry at the helm, the long awaited museum is set to be the shiniest jewel in the Guggenheim crown.

Originally announced in 2006 and slated to open in 2012, the project has suffered a number of setbacks over the years. Located on Saadiyat Island, a cultural sector off the coast of the UAE meant to establish Abu Dhabi as a top cultural destination worldwide, the museum will comprise part of a larger community of arts and cultural institutions there, which currently includes Jean Nouvel’s Louvre Abu Dhabi, the first outpost of Paris’ famed Musée du Louvre that exists outside of France.
Set to be the largest of the four currently existing Guggenheim outposts, the museum will be a sprawling complex consisting of approximately 42,000 square meters of galleries, exhibition spaces, a center for art and technology, a conservation laboratory, a children’s educational facility, and a theater.
Operated by the Guggenheim Foundation but owned by Abu Dhabi’s Tourism Development and Investment Company, Gehry’s latest Guggenheim (he also designed Guggenheim Bilbao) is described by the architect himself as “intentionally ‘messy,’ moving into clarity.” And truly, upon first glance it does appear to be a bit messy, a cluster of cones and str...