We've just heard that the placement of final pilings (some 4,536 piling elements - the equivalent of almost 100km of steel) for Jean Nouvel's Louvre Abu Dhabi has been completed.

Which gives us a good excuse to post these beautiful renderings of the final project for those of you who might not have seen them already.

The Louvre Abu Dhabi, currently under construction at Saadiyat Island's new Cultural District, is due for completion in 2012/13 will form part of the world's single largest concentration of premier cultural institutions.

“Abu Dhabi’s ultimate goal in creating the Louvre Abu Dhabi, and indeed the entire Saadiyat Island Cultural District, is to build a platform for deeper and more meaningful exchange among people from our own region and from all parts of the globe,” stated Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates.

“We move forward today with warm gratitude toward the people and government of France for joining us in the unprecedented cultural partnership that is creating the Louvre Abu Dhabi.”

Designed by Pritzker Prize winner Nouvel, the Louvre Abu Dhabi will be a 24,000 square metre complex of pavilions, plazas, alleyways and canals 'evoking the image of a city floating on the sea'.

Images Ateliers Jean Nouvel.