New Music Center Designed by Frank Gehry to Open in Abu Dhabi

A new building for the UAE Capital Youth Orchestra is set to open in Abu Dhabi’s Mina Zayed district in January 2027. The building was designed by Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry (1929–2025), a prominent representative of deconstructivism and winner of the 1989 Pritzker Prize. He was also the architect behind the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.

The new facility will include a 600-seat concert hall and 18 spaces for rehearsals and educational classes. Enrollment has already begun for the first group of 100 children aged between 6 and 9. Tuition will be free, with the program covering both Western classical music and traditional Arab music.

The project is aimed at making high-quality music education accessible to a wider audience and helping young talents develop to a professional level. Additional groups for students who already have musical training are also planned during the academy’s first academic year.