Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain unveils plans for new Jean Nouvel building
Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain has plans for a new building in Paris, working with architect Jean Nouvel

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
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
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
'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.
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
-
Dutch Design Awards 2025 honour a new generation of creatives
Recognising the use of AI as a design tool, social commentary, and new materials, this year’s Dutch Design Awards go to Vera van der Burg; Willem de Haan; and Marten van Middelkoop and Joost Dingemans of Plasticiet
-
The return of Genghis Cohen: LA’s cult Chinese diner lives on
The 1980s Chinese-American landmark returns with red booths, neon nostalgia, and a fresh dose of Hollywood eccentricity
-
A monumental exhibition of French design revives the spirit of art deco for contemporary times
The Galerie des Gobelins hosts the inaugural Salon des Nouveaux Ensembliers, a contemporary movement inspired by art deco’s grand traditions
-
‘You have to be courageous and experimental’: inside Fondation Cartier’s new home
Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain in Paris invites us into its new home, a movable feast expertly designed by Jean Nouvel
-
A wellness retreat in south-west France blends rural charm with contemporary concrete
Bindloss Dawes has completed the Amassa Retreat in Gascony, restoring and upgrading an ancient barn with sensitive modern updates to create a serene yoga studio
-
Explore the new Hermès workshop, a building designed for 'things that are not to be rushed'
In France, a new Hermès workshop for leather goods in the hamlet of L'Isle-d'Espagnac was conceived for taking things slow, flying the flag for the brand's craft-based approach
-
‘Landscape architecture is the queen of science’: Emanuele Coccia in conversation with Bas Smets
Italian philosopher Emanuele Coccia meets Belgian landscape architect Bas Smets to discuss nature, cities and ‘biospheric thinking’
-
An apartment is for sale within Cité Radieuse, Le Corbusier’s iconic brutalist landmark
Once a radical experiment in urban living, Cité Radieuse remains a beacon of brutalist architecture. Now, a coveted duplex within its walls has come on the market
-
Maison Louis Carré, the only Alvar Aalto house in France, reopens after restoration
Designed by the modernist architect in the 1950s as the home of art dealer Louis Carré, the newly restored property is now open to visit again – take our tour
-
Meet Ferdinand Fillod, a forgotten pioneer of prefabricated architecture
His clever flat-pack structures were 'a little like Ikea before its time.'
-
Eileen Gray: A guide to the pioneering modernist’s life and work
Gray forever shaped the course of design and architecture. Here's everything to know about her inspiring career