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Abu Dhabi: US President George W. Bush on Monday toured an exhibition dedicated to the Cultural District of Saadiyat Island, which will be home to the world's largest cluster of cultural assets.
The US President was accompanied on the tour of the exhibition at the Emirates Palace Hotel by General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.
Bush was briefed on the Cultural District by Shaikh Sultan Bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority and Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC), which is developing Saadiyat Island.
Bush expressed his admiration for the new cultural edifice and the vision of President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan for setting up such a cultural project.
He said the Cultural District was a holistic approach to creating greater cross-cultural understanding and that the architecture commissioned for the museums, performing arts centre and arts pavilions it will host would be a catalyst for a new genre of international design.
Bush was particularly taken with the Frank Gehry design for the proposed Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Modern and Contemporary Art Museum, which will be the world's largest Guggenheim and the only one in the Middle East.
The concept, he said, was a quantum design leap in the delivery of civic assets.
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