Joining it is the new Wine Ayutthaya, an eye-catching bar by the award-winning Bangkok Project Studio. The overall affect resembles a boxy, futuristic treehouse thanks to the ingenious use of PVC sheets draped over gridded steel-reinforced plywood.

Though the institutions involved have drawn fire for complicity in abusive labor practices, the Saadiyat Island Cultural District is well on its way to becoming one of the world’s great architectural petting zoos with contributions from Norman Foster, Frank Gehry, and Zaha Hadid.