zayed national museum’s interiors weave emirati craft, material, and cycles of time

Agata Kurzela Studio Crafts Spatial Cycles of Emirati Memory

Agata Kurzela Studio leads the creative direction, curatorship, and interior design of public, VIP, hospitality, and research spaces within Abu Dhabi’s Zayed National Museum. The studio’s work extends across spatial planning, FF&E, material development, and collaborations with regional designers and artisans, translating Emirati cultural references into contemporary interiors through craft, material, and spatial sequences.

Located in Abu Dhabi’s Saadiyat Cultural District, the Zayed National Museum is one of the United Arab Emirates’ major cultural institutions. Agata Kurzela Studio was commissioned to develop the interior language across a range of public, VIP, hospitality, and research areas, working in relation to the building’s monumental architecture. The interiors interpret Emirati identity through spatial, material, and artistic elements rather than presenting heritage solely through exhibition displays. Contemporary Emirati designers and makers are integrated into the museum through bespoke furniture, lighting, carpets, artworks, and architectural details, establishing a connection between the institution’s cultural program and current regional design practices.

all images ©Sebastian Boettcher

Zayed National Museum’s Spaces reference Al Durour calendar

The interior concept by Agata Kurzela Studio is structured around cycles of time, ritual, and material memory. At Majlis Al Shaheen, the tradition of welcoming guests with gahwa informs a palette of textures and references associated with dates, coffee pots, and woven safeefah. On the first floor, interconnected meeting spaces are arranged around a central courtyard. Their spatial sequence draws from the Al Durour calendar, a traditional regional system that divides the year according to ecological and climatic changes. The reference is expressed through variations in spatial density, color, and surface texture, creating different atmospheres across the sequence of rooms.

The luminous atrium, Al Liwan, retains a more open and monumental character, providing areas for orientation and pause beneath the building’s large-scale architecture. A modular seating system developed by the studio is integrated into the space as part of its architectural organization. The majlis interiors adopt more contained material palettes. Majlis Al Hurr 1 references Al Sheta, the winter season, through muted greens, desert-inspired tones, and embroidered motifs associated with rain. Majlis Al Hurr 2 responds to Al Qaith, the intense summer period, through a brighter palette. In the main Boardroom, Al Saif informs the interior, with kandura-imprint wall panels introducing a direct material reference to regional clothing.

Agata Kurzela Studio develops the interior design for Zayed National Museum in Abu Dhabi

regional craft and materials define museum’s interior palette

The Research Library adopts a more graphic and contrasting material language inspired by the construction and material qualities of the Bedouin tent. Positioned overlooking the Magan Boat and its black woollen sail, the library combines burnished bronze, solid timber, and semi-raw wool sofa systems. Across the museum, the material palette incorporates wool, rope, hand-thrown ceramics, camel leather, patinated metals, and local stone. These materials establish physical connections to regional craft and material traditions. In Majlis Al Shaheen, custom carpets feature long tactile fringes referencing animal fur, alongside patterns derived from traditional carved wooden doors.

The development of these elements involved material testing, kiln trials, and full-scale prototyping carried out with local artisans and regional workshops. Details were developed specifically for the museum to meet technical and performance requirements while retaining evidence of handcraft within the finished surfaces and objects.

the museum interiors combine spatial planning, material development, and regional craft

Contemporary Emirati designers co-design museum’s interiors

Collaboration forms an integral part of the interior design strategy. Agata Kurzela Studio directed the overall design and developed key elements including the custom library furniture, boardroom tables, lighting fixtures, and studio carpets, while a wider group of regional designers and makers contributed bespoke pieces.

All carpets were woven by Zuleya, with hand-finished Emirati tassels developed in collaboration with tarboush specialist Loretta Bilinskaite. Furniture and lighting include modular bead benches by Abdalla Al Mulla, Takya stone-embedded sofas by Aljoud Lootah, Nomad chairs by Latifa Saeed, reinterpreted residential seating by Omar Al Gurg, and lighting pieces by Roudha Al Shamsi, Alya Al Ghefeli, Khalid Shafar, and Nader Gammas. The museum also incorporates artworks by Afra Al Dhaheri, Juma Al Haj, Michael Rice, and Stephanie Neville. Together, these commissioned elements introduce contemporary regional authorship into the museum’s interiors, connecting the institution’s historical subject matter with current practices in Emirati design, art, and craft.

variations in color, texture, and density distinguish the museum’s different interiors

textures inspired by dates, coffee pots, and woven safeefah shape the interior

contemporary Emirati craft and design are integrated into the museum’s architectural language

wool, rope, ceramics, camel leather, and local stone appear across the museum interiors

regional designers contribute bespoke furniture, lighting, carpets, and artworks

meeting spaces on the first floor are arranged around a central courtyard

the library’s material palette references the construction of the Bedouin tent

embroidered motifs associated with rain add detail to the Al Sheta-inspired interior.

custom carpets feature tactile fringes and patterns derived from carved wooden doors

the spatial sequence draws on the seasonal cycles of the Al Durour calendar

contemporary Emirati design is integrated across the museum’s public and private spaces

project info:

name: Zayed National Museum
designer: Agata Kurzela Studio

location: Zayed National Museum, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
photographer: Sebastian Boettcher | @seb.bottcher

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edited by: Christina Vergopoulou | designboom

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