Set to open its doors to the public on 27 October 2014, the Fondation Louis Vuitton has been a work in progress since 2001, when LV President Bernard Arnault met award-winning architect Frank Gehry to talk about this exciting project.
WORDS Lindi Brownell Meiring PHOTOS Iwan Baan and Todd Eberle
Says Arnault, “We wanted to present Paris with an extraordinary place for art and culture, and demonstrate daring and emotion by entrusting Frank Gehry with the construction of a building that is emblematic of the 21st century.”
The aim of the Fondation is to encourage constant creation and innovation and make modern and contemporary art accessible to everyone. Essentially an art museum, it will be home to permanent collections, temporary exhibitions and installations, as well as performances and educational talks.
Located next to the Jardin d’Acclimation in the Bois de Boulogne park in Paris, the building is made up of 12 glass sails (comprised of 3 600 panes) supported by wooden beams and a collection of large white blocks, which has earned it the nickname, the “iceberg”.
“The 13 500 square metres of glass roofing is made up of unique panes, developed with the aid of innovative technology,” says Gehry. In fact, the entire project was brought to life thanks to one digital program from Gehry Technologies.
Despite its strikingly progressive design, the building still manages to tie in with its natural surroundings, not only via rooftop gardens and its ability to collect and recycle rain water, but in the way that it literally reflects the nearby trees and specially built water garden. Sustainability was an important part of the design process. “The environmental targets of the Fondation are so high that it has been chosen as the pilot project for the preparation of a new HQE (High Environmental Quality) standard dedicated to cultural buildings,” explains Gehry. | fondationlouisvuitton.fr.
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