23.10.14

A new Paris landmark


Paris has a new museum and cultural center, open to public as from Monday next, October 27, the “Fondation Louis Vuitton”. (I have a ticket for the opening hour – for some reason I was not invited to the more official inauguration ceremonies this week.) It will be a place for permanent and temporary art exhibitions for concerts (Kraftwerk, Lang Lang... programmed in November) and other events.

There has been criticism about the installation of this museum in the Bois de Boulogne, close to the Jardin de l’Acclimatation – which led to delay of the project. Anyhow, the architecture is spectacular and will certainly lead to discussions, probably more positive than negative though. Paris has got a new landmark.

Already by it looks it’s rather evident that the architect is Frank Gehry, known for a number of not-square buildings, the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, the Dancing House in Prague, the 8 Spruce Street in NYC… and of course the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao.

Here are photos I took of the Guggenheim Museum some four years ago (see post here).

This is not the first intervention of Frank Gehry in Paris. In 1993 an American Center was opened in the Parc de Bercy (see previous post), later taken over by the Cinémathèque Française.  In 2006 he created a “telephone box” on the Gariglaino Bridge (see previous post).  It’s not there anymore (where is it, if anywhere?)







So, let’s have an outside look on the new Paris Museum, photos taken last weekend in a fantastic summer weather. (If I’m allowed to take photos inside, I will revert with a later post.) It’s described as a sailboat, inflated by the wind.


The glass sails envelop an “iceberg”, which will be the real exposition part.  


As it’s a boat, it’s floating on water. A very sophisticated water-and-foam play takes place in a basin in front of the museum.


Here we can see where the museum is located (the building was under construction when the Google Earth photo was taken)… and also Frank Gehry’s original architectural sketch.



You can read more about the Foundation here.    

9 comments:

G@ttoGiallo said...

Hum, not teally fond of this kind of architecture, but... missing Paris.

G@ttoGiallo said...

('really', of course).

Amanda said...

I appreciate the ingenuity, design… and I will definitively visit the new cultural center. Frank Gehry's creations are easy to recognize.

Virginia said...

IT NEVER FAILS. I find a new sight in Paris to take you to and of course you have already found it. You might have to revisit. OK? V

martinealison said...

Bonjour cher ami,

Je te remercie de nous faire découvrir ce monstre d'architecture. Une construction colossale !
A Lyon, l'architecte Marcus Prossnigg a réalisé un édifice qui verra la fin de sa construction pour 2015. Un musée qui reprend un peu celui de Guggenheim de Bilbao.

Des projets audacieux...
Merci pour l'ensemble de tes photos.
Gros bisous ♡

Anonymous said...


¡Impresionante!
¡Y la fotografia impecable!
I love the LV brand very much.
Thank you, Peter.
Maria

Studio at the Farm said...

Wonderful photos, Peter! I love Gehry's designs - so bold, so different. This new building is fantastic. What a brilliant and innovative building!
Kathryn

Jeanie said...

I'd love to see this, Peter, although I'm not so sure I'm a fan of the architecture. It reminds me of our Broad Museum, which many of us call "The Big Ugly." (https://www.google.com/search?q=broad+museum&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&channel=sb) I think in our case the situation is that the museum is badly placed in the oldest and most traditional part of campus rather than the modern part. We didn't get funding if we didn't put it on the main street so they tore down at least one lovely old building. I always hate it when it happens. But I suspect it works beautifully (yours) and I love the fountains.

Unknown said...

I like these photos very much
Metal Planters