Originally slated to finish in 2012, the opening of the highly anticipated Louvre Abu Dhabi has been pushed back to 2017. Designed by award-winning architect Ateliers Jean Nouvel with a budget of 2.4 billion AED ($653,470,224), the museum features soft curves and a fresh white facade. Opening in June 2017.
Louvre Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates —
Originally slated to finish in 2012, the opening of the highly anticipated Louvre Abu Dhabi has been pushed back to 2017. Designed by award-winning architect Ateliers Jean Nouvel with a budget of 2.4 billion AED ($653,470,224), the museum features soft curves and a fresh white facade. Opening in June 2017.
TDIC, Ateliers Jean Nouvel
World Expos are almost always exotic architectural zoos, and Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill's monumental suite of circular pavilions is set to continue the trend. Astana's first Expo opens its doors next June with a theme of zero-energy design and sustainable urbanism. Opening in June 2017.
Astana World Expo, Astana, Kazakhstan —
World Expos are almost always exotic architectural zoos, and Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill's monumental suite of circular pavilions is set to continue the trend. Astana's first Expo opens its doors next June with a theme of zero-energy design and sustainable urbanism. Opening in June 2017.
Courtesy of Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill
Rising up from Saudi's eastern deserts like a collection of sand-smoothed pebbles, the King Abdulaziz Centre is a petro-dollar-funded foundation for 'creativity and knowledge.' Long delayed but now practically finished, the smooth façade -- actually formed from countless kilometres of winding steel tubes -- envelopes a library, education centre, auditorium and museum. Opening in the second half of 2017.
King Abdulaziz Centre for World Culture, Dhahran —
Rising up from Saudi's eastern deserts like a collection of sand-smoothed pebbles, the King Abdulaziz Centre is a petro-dollar-funded foundation for 'creativity and knowledge.' Long delayed but now practically finished, the smooth façade -- actually formed from countless kilometres of winding steel tubes -- envelopes a library, education centre, auditorium and museum. Opening in the second half of 2017.
courtesy of Snøhetta
Gdansk's biggest cultural project for many years is a spectacular if sobering monument to Poland's darkest hours, its cataclysmic experiences during WWII. Studio Architektoniczne Kwadrat's competition-winning scheme features dramatic concrete forms thrusting out of a landscaped new plaza. Opening in the first half 2017.
Second World War Museum, Gdańsk —
Gdansk's biggest cultural project for many years is a spectacular if sobering monument to Poland's darkest hours, its cataclysmic experiences during WWII. Studio Architektoniczne Kwadrat's competition-winning scheme features dramatic concrete forms thrusting out of a landscaped new plaza. Opening in the first half 2017.
Studio Architektoniczne Kwadrat
The V&A is one of the most long-established and highly acclaimed museums in the world, but that hasn't stopped it from undergoing a constant programme of updates and enhancements. The latest major project is Amanda Levete Architects' competition-winning scheme on Exhibition Road, a new plaza, gallery and café that will soon radically change the way the museum addresses the rest of culture-rich Kensington. Opening July 2017.
Exhibition Road at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London —
The V&A is one of the most long-established and highly acclaimed museums in the world, but that hasn't stopped it from undergoing a constant programme of updates and enhancements. The latest major project is Amanda Levete Architects' competition-winning scheme on Exhibition Road, a new plaza, gallery and café that will soon radically change the way the museum addresses the rest of culture-rich Kensington. Opening July 2017.
Courtesy of AL_L and the V&A
A museum dedicated to the holy book needs to tread a fine line in a country that's declared itself done with truth itself. Yet maybe post-factual Washington is the perfect spot for this self-proclaimed non-denominational look at the history, society, geography and culture chronicled in the Bible. The tech-filled brick and glass Museum of the Bible is designed by SmithGroupJJR. Opening November 2017.
Museum of the Bible, Washington DC —
A museum dedicated to the holy book needs to tread a fine line in a country that's declared itself done with truth itself. Yet maybe post-factual Washington is the perfect spot for this self-proclaimed non-denominational look at the history, society, geography and culture chronicled in the Bible. The tech-filled brick and glass Museum of the Bible is designed by SmithGroupJJR. Opening November 2017.
Courtesy of SmithGroupJRR
A massive adaptive reuse project by architectsAlliance will transform an early-20th-century industrial structure into Toronto's first dedicated MOCA, giving the institution its own building nearly 20 years after it was founded. The historic Tower Automotive Building is being retained, with the first few floors given over to art, exhibitions and events when it opens in late 2017. Opening autumn 2017.
Museum of Contemporary Art, Toronto —
A massive adaptive reuse project by architectsAlliance will transform an early-20th-century industrial structure into Toronto's first dedicated MOCA, giving the institution its own building nearly 20 years after it was founded. The historic Tower Automotive Building is being retained, with the first few floors given over to art, exhibitions and events when it opens in late 2017. Opening autumn 2017.
Courtesy of MOCA
Most anticipated new museums of 2017

Editor’s Note: The Spaces is a digital publication that covers architecture, design and art.

CNN  — 

Nothing kick-starts a city like a new museum. Major cultural projects were a little thin on the ground in 2016, but 2017 will be a busy year in the international art calendar.

As well as esoteric destinations like Washington’s Museum of the Bible and Marrakesh’s mecca for fans of YSL style, there are a host of cities and countries getting their first major modern art gallery, everywhere from South Africa to Canada and Abu Dhabi. Here’s a selection of new museums opening in 2017.

See seven of this year’s best new museums in the gallery above, and head to The Spaces for more debuts.