Housed in a postmodern building with an eye-catching honeycomb mantle, Manarat Al Saadiyat ('place of enlightenment') is a multimedia exhibit called 'Saadiyat Experience'. It explains the vision behind the development of Saadiyat Island, which will include residential communities, hotels, beaches, schools and, of course, a Cultural District with such headline-making museums as the Abu Dhabi Louvre, the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi and the Sheikh Zayed Museum.
A large model showing how the island's cultural, residential and leisure developments will fit together goes a long way towards understanding this ambitious project, as does an animation providing a virtual walkthrough and flyover. Another highlight is a detailed model of the Zayed National Museum, whose design takes inspiration from the wingtips of falcons, while Frank Gehry's Guggenheim picks up on traditional Emirati wind-tower architecture.
