Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Wallpaper
Wallpaper
Lifestyle
Ellie Stathaki

Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain unveils plans for new Jean Nouvel building

The building that will house the Fondation Cartier pour l’artcontemporain from 2025, Place du Palais-Royal, Paris. Interior architecture by Jean Nouvel. Photo © Luc Boegly.

Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain is planning a landmark new building, it has been unveiled today in Paris. Renowned architect Jean Nouvel will design the new home for the cultural institution, which will be located at Place du Palais-Royal. Set to open by the end of 2025, to eventually replace the Fondation's existing space on Boulevard Raspail, the project involves the transformation and restoration of a historical Haussmannian building from 1855.

Rendering of the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain’s futurespaces, Place du Palais Royal, Paris (Image credit: © Jean Nouvel / ADAGP, Paris, 2024)

Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain: a new Jean Nouvel building

'Moving into such an impressive site, in terms of location and history, entails a form of invention. And what is invented is not automatically seen in the steel or stone. The space is marked by a different way of doing: a way of conceiving how artists can have maximum power of expression,' says Jean Nouvel on his practice's new project.

The architect is famously behind the popular, existing home of the Fondation Cartier - an iconic, ethereal structure in glass and steel that feels delicate and transparent. It was inaugurated in 1994.

Building site view of the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporains’s future spaces, Place du Palais Royal, Paris. July 2024 (Image credit: © Martin Argyroglo)

The architect continues: 'A site such as this one calls for boldness, courage that artists might not necessarily demonstrate in other institutional spaces. The Fondation Cartier will likely be the institution offering the greatest differentiation of its spaces, the most diverse exhibition forms and viewpoints. Here, it is possible to do what cannot be done elsewhere, by shifting the system of the act of showing.'

The expansive 8500 sq m structure used to be a Grand Hotel, but will now be redesigned with a commitment to foster and celebrate the arts. Extensive gallery spaces will include flexible halls and mobile platforms that will allow artists and curators to adapt the interior for different shows, as needed.

Building site view of the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporains’s future spaces, Place du Palais Royal, Paris. July 2024 (Image credit: Cedric Corroy)

'From its creation, the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain has based its activity around three major principles that still hold true today. The first is the central position granted to artists and artistic production, including artists already known to the general public as well as emerging figures. The second is the focus on transversality: the Fondation Cartier is a space dedicated to all forms of creation, from painting to photography, architecture to film, design to fashion, and more.'

'The third is the strict separation between the Fondation Cartier’s activities and the commercial development of Maison Cartier. These were the major principles underlying the launch of the Fondation Cartier on October 20, 1984, in Jouy-en-Josas. We have perpetuated this same philosophy on Boulevard Raspail and will continue to do so on the Place du Palais-Royal, across from the Louvre,' says Alain Dominique Perrin, founding president of the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain.

fondationcartier.com

jeannouvel.com

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.