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A look at the Louvre Abu Dhabi by the numbers

Abu Dhabi - The vast project claims to be the first museum of its kind in the Arab world.

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The Louvre Abu Dhabi, the first museum to bear the Louvre name outside France, presents around 600 pieces in a modern, light-filled structure in harmony with its desert-island setting.

Flagged as "the first universal museum in the Arab world", it sits on the low-lying Saadiyat Island, a developing tourism and culture hub 500 metres (1,600 feet) off the coast of Abu Dhabi.

It is the first museum to open on the island, also the site of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, which is still under construction.

First look: A sneak peek into Louvre Abu Dhabi

The site comprises 55 white buildings reminiscent of traditional Arab medinas.

Two-thirds of the museum is covered by a dome, 180 metres in diameter, which provides welcome shade from the scorching sun.

Pierced with 7,850 star-like openings formed by the layering of the building's structure, like interwoven palm leaves, the dome is intended to resemble silver lace.

The vast project claims to be "the first museum of its kind in the Arab world: a universal museum that focuses on shared human stories across civilisations and cultures".

The museum's price tag was initially estimated at $654 million, to be put up by Abu Dhabi under a deal signed with France in 2007.

Here's a look at the Louvre Abu Dhabi by the numbers:

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