For the newsstand cover of Wallpaper’s November 2025 Art Issue, we picked an artwork from the collection of the Fondation Cartier, which, as Amy Serafin reports, recently opened on a new site next to the Musée du Louvre in Paris. The large-scale model, by the Congolese artist Bodys Isek Kingelez, reimagines Kinshasa as an urban utopia, a spectacular diorama that reminds us that the city is a space for fantasy and invention. On our limited-edition subscriber cover, we offer a glimpse of Studio Job’s monumental House of Delft. At 2,000 sq m, this is not only the Netherlands’ largest artwork, but also the largest commission of studio founder Job Smeets’ career, and it will soon occupy no fewer than three galleries in a Frits van Dongen-designed building in the Dutch city.

Besides representing metropolises in microcosm, both artworks offer up alternative visions of the world that our arts & culture editor Hannah Silver was keen to explore in other contexts, engaging in a series of in-studio sessions with artists with upcoming shows. These range from the family dynamics captured in the figurative works of Chantal Joffe and the uncompromising immersive video art of Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley to the otherworldly tales of Brooklyn-based Colombian artist María Berrío – part myth, part memory – that are delicately rendered in watercolour on Japanese paper.

Elsewhere, Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and visual artist Stanley Donwood discuss the archive of their 30-year creative partnership, some of which is now on view at Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum. We meet Bengi Ünsal, the new director of London’s ICA, who is returning the space to its multidisciplinary roots, and pay tribute to Madrid’s burgeoning contemporary art scene, exploring the launch of the city’s Solo CSV gallery.

Finally, we turn the gaze on ourselves as Hugo Macdonald unravels the mysterious power of mirrors to absorb and empower our thirst for self-reflection; a chance to disappear into a world of our own – one glance at a time.

Bill Prince
Editor-in-Chief

The November 2025 Art Issue of Wallpaper* is available in print on newsstands from, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News + from 9 October. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today

In 1984, the French sculptor César told Cartier president Alain Dominique Perrin that it took public museums too much time to organise exhibitions. So Perrin decided to create the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, where decisions would be made quickly and artists given total freedom. That year, it opened on an estate outside Paris, becoming France’s first corporate sponsor of contemporary art.

Ten years later, it made its way into the capital, to a steel-and-glass building on Boulevard Raspail designed by Pritzker Prize winner Jean Nouvel. Now, the pioneering institution is entering a whole new era, relocating to vast premises in the heart of Paris, with an even more radical renovation by Nouvel.

Inside the brand new Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain in Paris

Located next to the Musée du Louvre, the Fondation Cartier’s new home has a very Parisian history. It started out as the city’s first luxury hotel, opening in time for the 1855 Universal Exposition. High-end boutiques on the ground and mezzanine floors became so popular that the hotel moved out and the building became a department store, the Grands Magasins du Louvre (the inspiration for Emile Zola’s Au Bonheur des Dames). It later housed an antiques mall before finally closing in 2018.

For the building’s newest chapter, Nouvel left the façade untouched and gutted the interior, freeing up 8,500 sq m for public spaces, including 6,500 sq m for exhibitions. ‘This project doesn’t impose contemporary architecture; it explores the possibilities inside the existing framework,’ he says. ‘The history of the place becomes an active material, a fertile constraint.’

Around the structure’s original limestone arches, he introduced concrete, glass and steel. Five huge mobile platforms in recycled steel span nearly the entire length of the building. Able to hold large and heavy works, they can be positioned in multiple combinations, from the floor of level -1 to the ceiling, 11m above, offering a startling diversity of exhibition choices. Pulleys and cables are visible underneath the platforms. ‘By making the mechanism apparent, we reveal the potential for transformation, adaptation, reconfiguration and change,’ says Nouvel, who refers to the building as a ‘support for inventions’ where every detail is meant to provoke the imagination.

Large bay windows on Rue de Rivoli and Rue Saint-Honoré, reminiscent of those in the Grands Magasins du Louvre, allow passers-by to see into the building, and visitors to look out. ‘At Boulevard Raspail, I wanted to erase the borders between the museum and the city,’ says Nouvel. ‘Here, the context is different, more dense, more historic. But the desire remains the same: to create porosity, visual continuity, new perspectives and resonance between the intimacy of the space and the life of the city.’

Overhead, three glass panels reveal trees planted on the roof. When the panels are uncovered, sunlight through the leaves creates moving shadows on the interior walls. But the ceiling and windows can also be completely shuttered, for total darkness.

‘This building that Jean created for us is the culmination of a particularly Parisian chapter of dynamic architecture,’ says Fondation Cartier director Chris Dercon. He’s referring to a period that started with the 1925 International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts, which celebrated avant-garde architecture. In 1939, Jean Prouvé was part of the design team for the pioneering Maison du Peuple in Clichy with a retractable floor and roof. Prouvé then presided over the jury that chose Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers to design the Centre Pompidou, conceived to be fully modular. More recently, Rem Koolhaas inserted four mobile platforms into an exhibition tower for contemporary art foundation Lafayette Anticipations.

Today, says Dercon, modern technology and greater ease in obtaining building permits make dynamic architecture more feasible than ever. While this expands curatorial possibilities, it also presents new challenges to artists and scenographers. ‘Confronted with such architecture, you have to be courageous and experimental,’ he notes, using the term ‘cubist’ to describe the new Fondation Cartier.

‘It is non-linear, everything happens simultaneously, so we have to imagine how to create spaces for paintings, or how to create isolation for works that need intimacy.’

For the inaugural exhibition, which opens on 25 October, design studio Formafantasma conceived the scenography to show off the artworks as well as the building, arranging the platforms to offer a glimpse of the whole space from one end to the other. In marked contrast to what Dercon calls the ‘white cube syndrome’, they employed textiles and paper to support the displays.

Entitled ‘Exposition Générale’ (taken from the name for the highly anticipated sales events held at stores such as the Grands Magasins in the 19th century), the exhibition contains nearly 600 works from the Fondation Cartier’s 4,500-work collection, acquired over four decades from shows it has previously commissioned. These artworks demonstrate to what extent experimentation and eclecticism have always been key to the Fondation Cartier story.

The participating artists represent a range of disciplines: among them are drawings by filmmaker David Lynch, a table made of miniature bricks by architect Bijoy Jain, an exuberant ‘salón de eventos’ by Bolivia’s Freddy Mamani, and a stone grafted with hair from Black barbershops by David Hammons. An immersive installation showing global migration patterns by architecture studio Diller Scofidio + Renfro is based on the ideas of philosopher Paul Virilio, who appears several times throughout the exhibition.

Architecture is one of the show’s four major themes, which seems apt as the Fondation Cartier’s new building enters the pantheon of remarkable spaces for art and culture in Paris. Dercon mentions a few – the Centre Pompidou, the Fondation Louis Vuitton, the Bourse de Commerce and, of course, the Fondation Cartier’s famous neighbour. ‘Being next to the Louvre, now that’s the greatest challenge, isn’t it?’

jeannouvel.com

fondationcartier.com

This article appears in the November 2025 Art Issue of Wallpaper*, available in print on newsstands, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News + on 9 October. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today

If you are missing the celebrated Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain home at Boulevard Raspail, then head to the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025, and the foundation's collateral event at Fondazione Giorgio Cini on the majestic Island of San Giorgio Maggiore. There, a sneak preview exhibition of what's to come at the next Jean Nouvel structure for Fondation Cartier, which is set to open later in the year, might quench your thirst until the public opening of the new structure on 25 October 2025.

What's to come at the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain in Paris

When it was announced that the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain in Paris is moving homes from its well-known, existing 1994-designed space on Boulevard Raspail by Jean Nouvel to a new building at the 19th-century Place du Palais-Royal, it took audiences by surprise. Not only because of the change itself, but also as the new home, also designed by Nouvel (in an existing historic building), promises an immersive, kinetic and fully 21st-century experience.

'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,' Jean Nouvel told us at the time.

'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 new building will be inaugurated this coming autumn, and the newly opened show in Venice offers glimpses of what's to come, in the shape of large scale, immersive renders, photos and film; drawings providing detail into the construction and feel of different areas within the building, including its movable platforms and adaptable nature; and a generous model, arranged in a way that allows the visitor to walk in it and take in the building's interior and kinetic potential.

The show, no doubt, will whet appetites to explore the new space once available; and in the meantime, inspire conversations around the future of art exhibitions, cultural architecture and cross-disciplinary creation. A public programme including participants such as Jean Nouvel, Cecilia Puga, Andrés Jaque, Lina Ghotmeh, Manuel Segade and Antoine Picon, will accompany the exhibition.

The exhibition 'The Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain by Jean Nouvel' will be on show until 14 September 2025 on the Island of San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice

cini.it

fondationcartier.com

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.

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.

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.

'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

Taking her cues from MoMA's outpost, which sits next door to this 82-storey skyscraper, Rebecca Robertson of New York design studio RR Interiors has crafted a new composition for one of the apartments inside Jean Nouvel's iconic 53 West 53. Making the most of the building's Thierry Despont interior design, Creative Art Partners' (CAP) art curation, and the slender, eye-catching architecture of the Nouvel-designed building, this newly released, carefully considered residence is a real showstopper.

53 West 53, which reaches 1,050 ft high, is defined by its height, and its external collection of tapered glass façades and crisp edges. Featuring an exposed structural system, which translates visually into reflective surfaces with distinctive diagonal beams over the grid of windows, the building balances Nouvel's expressiveness and the iconic New York cityscape. Meanwhile inside, luxurious residences meet amenities that span 30,000 sq ft, including a restaurant, sports and library facilities, vertical gardens designed by botanist Patrick Blanc, and the 53W53 Wellness Center.

The environment's powerful art and architecture have guided the decisions made by RR interiors in apartment 61A. This is combined with CAP’s artistic vision, which brings together abstract swathes of colour by Gracie DeVito, Flora Hauser’s minimalist landscapes, and modernist sculptures sourced by the curators. The impressive overall collection of artworks in this project comprises a striking 34 original pieces originating from 12 different countries.

The extensive views towards the New York skyline were also key to the internal composition in this expansive, 3,670 sq ft home. North-, east- and west-facing windows overlook the greenscapes of Central Park, as well as the surrounding architecture of the city. The diagonal supporting beams create varied angles in the living and bedroom views, cutting shapes and framing the landscape. Robertson worked with these vistas to select the products and furniture used inside, and describes how the team wanted 61A’s interiors to feel ‘like a bird’s nest in a tree, using soothing tones and gentle curves’, contrasting with the more structured city view. 

Further contrasts elevate the space when the gaze turns inwards. The elongated curve of a custom RR Interiors travertine dining table and the soft edges of the chairs in the living space are balanced neatly by the geometric angles of a Thierry Despont coffee table.

A variety of textures across the furnishings, spanning grasscloth, alpaca wool and silks alongside rich, warm wood, offer softness and comfort. Custom lighting by Despont for Schwinghammer, Dornbracht nickel bathroom fixtures and a marble-topped kitchen by Molteni are amongst the design-led, luxurious fittings in the home – making this an artfully curated, highly refined New York apartment.

INFORMATION

rebeccarobertsoninteriors.com

53w53.com

Copenhagen-based brand Reform has collaborated with Paris-based architect Jean Nouvel on a light-filled new kitchen design. The new Reform kitchen weaves minimalist Danish design references with Nouvel’s characteristically bold design ticks for a bright and welcoming space, adding an art deco-inspired edge to Reform’s sleek and sculptural minimalism. Units crafted from steel – kitchen fronts are available in black or untreated metal – play on Nouvel’s ability to capture light, through a series of understated vertical ridges.

‘Jean Nouvel is known for his minimalistic, yet playful and artistic expression,’ says Jeppe Christensen, founder and CEO of Reform. ‘The form and materiality he creates play with light and create different colours and reflections – and I think his kitchen design encapsulates this in a sublime way.’ With the grooves in the gleaming metal brilliantly catching the light, the stainless steel and grey and black Fenix laminate countertops become elegant and illuminated expanses.

Reform kitchen: ‘minimalistic yet expressionistic’

The architectural sensibility Nouvel brings to the project is central to the design, which is minimalist and functional, while capturing the imagination. The space is brought to life by intricate details that were finalised in a lengthy creative process, hampered in part by the Covid-19 pandemic.

‘It was really difficult to travel to Paris and meet up in real life, which is something that is super important in the design phase and prototyping phase – you always need to work with the details together,’ says Christensen. ‘You need to see and discuss things in real life. Also, it’s quite a complex kitchen design to manufacture – there are a lot of small details that need to be perfect, so there were many fittings and adjustments to hit the right expression, and most importantly the high quality that we always strive for.’

The result translates a modern minimalism into a welcoming and workable space. ‘The kitchen is minimalistic, but yet super expressionistic – I think that’s what Jean Nouvel does so well,’ adds Christensen. ‘It inspires us to live a life of expression, without drowning out everything else – which I think is quite sympathetic and beautiful.’

INFORMATION

reformcph.com

Located in the heart of Manhattan, 53W53 is one of the newest New York luxury residential high rises, and the first in town to be designed by Pritzker Prize-winning French architect Jean Nouvel. The dramatic 82-storey structure dominates the skyline, elegantly asserting its presence; and stepping inside, the experience is no less impressive. 

Offering a range of amenities and exclusive services, the development – owned by Singaporean company Pontiac Land and Hines, and featuring interiors by Thierry Despont – has now unveiled its state-of-the-art Wellness Center: a haven of green walls, swimming pools, calm and luxury for its lucky residents.

53W53 Wellness Center

Stretching out across the entire 12th floor of the building, the centre incorporates spa and fitness facilities, including a generous swimming pool with a lush green wall designed by French botanist Patrick Blanc; a squash room; a fully equiped gym with separate yoga/Pilates room; and a golf simulator that lets you play (virtually) at some of the best courses in the world.

The space is managed by wellness brand The Wright Fit. From personalised classes to doing absolutely nothing and relaxing in the steam room, these luxe facilities have it all – and in a Nouvel-designed space no less. 

‘When residents enter the Wellness Center, they are transported to a relaxing oasis that evokes luxury at every corner and inspires an overwhelming sense of grounding calmness,' says Samantha Sax, chief marketing officer of Pontiac Land US.

‘Between the unparalleled design and the sheer variety of health and wellness offerings within the 15,000 sq ft, full-floor space, the Wellness Center is a reprieve from daily life and a dedicated venue for self-indulgence and total mind and body wellness.'

The interior's materiality matches its technological and spatial glamour, encompassing finishes such as matrix stone and white crystal. Touches such as Bulgari’s shower and body products, an abundance of natural light throughout, and powerful architecture – featuring Nouvel’s exposed structural system, known as the diagrid, which eliminates the need for interior columns – make for an experience that feels rich and tailored to the needs of its discerning residents.

The space allows for luxurious downtime, whether users are embracing its opportunities for activity or seeking relaxation for the body and soul.

INFORMATION
jeannouvel.com
53w53.com

Miami is a heady swirl of art deco architecture and luxury condos, tropical climes and pristine beaches, glitzy nightclubs and well-worn divebars. More recently, however, it has embraced a series of trophy buildings designed by the Who’s Who in architecture, from Rafael Viñoly to Frank Gehry, Foster + Partners, Bjarke Ingels, and Herzog & de Meuron. Here, we look at the architectural projects and real estate developments shaping Miami today.

Park Grove, OMA

Rem Koolhaas’ firm has already made its mark on a significant swathe of Miami, with the completion of a trio of buildings in Faena District in 2016. Now, it’s full steam ahead with a multi-tower residential enclave in Coconut Grove, backed by powerhouse developers The Related Group and Terra Group. Drawing inspiration from Biscayne Bay, OMA partner and project lead Shohei Shigematsu has imagined the towers as linked barrier islands. Each residence features open floor plans, 12ft ceilings with floor-to-ceiling windows, kitchens and bathrooms by designer William Sofield, Sub-Zero and Wolf appliances, expansive terraces, and private elevator access. Over 50,000 sq ft of the development has been parcelled for luxury lifestyle amenities, ensuring residents will almost certainly never want to leave Park Grove. Read more here.

LOCATION: Coconut Grove, Miami
YEAR: 2013 – ongoing
KEY FEATURES: Wine tasting rooms with private storage, five acres of private gardens by Enzo Enea, art collection, mind-body wellness lounge and bio-sauna, Meyer Davis-designed interiors, restaurant by James Beard Award winner Michael Schwartz

One Thousand Museum, Zaha Hadid Architects

Described astutely in a PBS documentary as ‘one of the most complex skyscrapers ever to make it off the drawing board’, One Thousand Museum was Zaha Hadid’s final undertaking before her death in 2016. Completed at the end of last year, the 62-storey tower has already cemented its status as an architectural icon of Downtown Miami’s skyline, thanks to its bold exoskeleton design. The 84 museum-quality units have been realised as half-floor, full-floor and duplex residences, fitted with Gatto Cucine kitchens, Gaggenau and Sub-Zero appliances, Molteni & C custom closets, integrated smart technology, and a choice of luxurious finishes chosen by Hadid herself. Potential buyers can also choose from curated collection of turnkey residences by design houses Artefacto, B&B Italia, Roche Bobois, Meridiani, and Luxury Living Group. Read more here.

LOCATION: Biscayne Boulevard, Miami
YEAR: Q4 2019
KEY FEATURES: Exoskeleton design, aquatic centre, rooftop helipad, bank-quality vault, indoor/outdoor spa, private beach club, on-demand house car, multimedia theatre, specialised security and valet personnel

El Espacio 23, Jorge M Pérez

Forty years in the making, El Espacio 23 is a private museum dedicated to philanthropist and entrepreneur Jorge M Pérez’s vast art collection and first opened to the public during Art Basel Miami Beach last year. A passion project of the billionaire real estate developer, the space is housed in a repurposed 28,000 sq ft warehouse in Miami’s Allapattah neighbourhood and designed by Pérez himself who sees it as an extension of his home (amenities include a library, living room and bar area to entertain guests). The year-round programming includes a series of residencies for artists and curators representing a range of diverse range of disciplines and ethnic backgrounds, as well as activations inspired by the surrounding neighbourhood of Allapattah.

LOCATION: Allapattah, Miami
YEAR: Q4 2019
KEY FEATURES: Artist apartments reserved for residency programmes, shared workspace, library, bar and lounge area

Rubell Museum, Selldorf Architects

When Mera and Don Rubell were looking for an architect to convert a former industrial complex into a museum-worthy setting for their family’s collection, the Miami mega-collectors turned to art world favourite Annabelle Selldorf. Located in Miami’s emerging Allapattah neighbourhood, the museum will draw on the Rubells’ extensive holdings of over 7,200 works by more than 1,000 artists. Selldorf Architects gutted and transformed six warehouse units into a cohesive 100,000 sq ft campus – tripling the exhibition capacity of the collection’s previous space. The Rubell Museum now unfolds across a single level, comprising 40 galleries, a flexible events and performance space, a richly stocked research library, a bookstore, an outdoor bar and restaurant serving Basque cuisine. Read more here.

LOCATION: Allapattah, Miami
YEAR: Q4 2019
KEY FEATURES: Refinished concrete floors, single-storey complex, courtyard garden featuring rare plants native to the Everglades and Florida

Eighty Seven Park, Renzo Piano Building Workshop

Flanked by a 35-acre public park to the south and a private park to the north, few condominium projects in Miami – if any – can boast the green credentials of Renzo Piano’s Eighty Seven Park. ‘What we’re expressing is that this building belongs to nature,’ said the Italian architect when we first checked on the development’s progress in 2017. The 70 residences, spread over 18 elliptical floors, emphasise outdoor living – each comes with a generously sized wraparound terrace ranging from 15-25ft wide. Paris-based design firm RDAI notes the interior design was built around natural materials collected at the site: the Venetian terrazzo flooring that recalls Miami’s white sand beaches, for example. Read more here.

LOCATION: North Shore, Miami Beach
YEAR: Q4 2019
KEY FEATURES: 24-hour concierge and butler service, enoteca (wine shop), onsite botanist, oceanfront swimming pools, spa, state-of-the-art fitness centre, outdoor juice bar, private elevator access to all units

Monad Terrace, Ateliers Jean Nouvel

‘From the beginning – and always – it has been important to me to put the spirit of place in all my work,’ says Jean Nouvel. ‘Here in Miami, I wanted to create a building that is like the reflection of the sun on the water.’ Comprising 59 luxury waterfront residences nestled around a shimmering lagoon, Monad Terrace in South Beach is the Pritzker Prize winner’s first and only residential project in Florida. The striking sawtooth façade is made up of honeycomb glass screens, which diffuse sunlight and provide privacy to residents while maintaining unobstructed views of Biscayne Bay. Vertical gardens on the north and south façades offer additional shade.

LOCATION: South Beach, Miami Beach
YEAR: 2020 (under construction)
KEY FEATURES: Honeycomb sawtooth façade, 116ft swimming pool and hot tub, climbing gardens, private or semi-private elevator access, wellness centre, residents’ lounge

Residences by Armani/Casa, César Pelli

This sleek, monolithic oceanfront tower was the last project designed by venerable architect César Pelli before his death in July last year. The 56-storey structure is composed of ‘two intertwined sail-like shapes, billowing and expanding as they rise’, says Gregg Jones, principal of Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, while its blue-hued glass was designed to flow seamlessly into the water below. Giorgio Armani has stepped in personally to deliver Armani/Casa’s first residential project in the US, envisioning elegantly understated interiors fitted materials like white gold leaf, onyx and bronzed mirrors. Imagined as ‘homes in the sky’, the residences feature expansive terraces, master suites with his-and-hers bathrooms, and are wired with smart technology to access select building amenities.

LOCATION: Sunny Isles Beach
YEAR: Q4 2019
KEY FEATURES: Ocean-view yoga studio with Pilates equipment, Armani/Privé lounge, museum-quality art collection, 24-hour multilingual concierge service, cigar room, wine cellar, two-storey revitalisation spa, exclusive beach amenities, classic Hollywood-inspired movie theatre

Mr C Residences, Arquitectonica

Fourth-generation members of the storied Cipriani family, Maggio and Ignazio Cipriani are the forces behind Mr C, a hospitality and residential brand for luxury modern living. Following projects in Los Angeles and New York, the brothers are now making waves with Miami, teaming up with Terra’s David Martin, architect Ray Fort of Arquitectonica, and interior design firm Meyer Davis to bring a taste of old world Europe to a bayside residential tower in Coconut Grove. The 118 residences in the 21-storey building will feature 11ft ceilings, open floor plan layouts, private outdoor terraces, custom-designed Italian kitchens by ITALKRAFT with terrazzo and quartz countertops, European porcelain tile floors, and spa-like bathrooms.

LOCATION: Coconut Grove, Miami
YEAR: Expected Q3 2022
KEY FEATURES: Sail-inspired design, private Bellini bar on the pool deck, speciality gourmet market, lifestyle and nautical concierge, Bayshore owners’ club, peloton studio, indoor yoga studio, in-home delivery from on-site café

At the heart of the new National Museum of Qatar is a platform displaying the components of a traditional bait al-sha’t, or ‘house of hair’, the tents Bedouins constructed and dismantled as they roamed the peninsula. Resembling long Persian rugs, they were knit by women from the hair of black goats for their ability to protect from harsh, unpredictable weather.

The message, that architecture here in Qatar must work hard, is as true today as ever. Like the skyscrapers of Doha’s West Bay area, Jean Nouvel’s latest feat, a blast of interlocking concrete discs, is tasked with ‘bridging the sea and desert’ (or, as it were, the city and motorway). But it also must project and shape the nation’s cultural identity, draw publicity to a tiny country growing in geopolitical heft, and help develop a new cultural industry to mitigate the dominance of oil.

Nouvel’s design nails a tough mission: to balance, superlative for superlative, IM Pei’s pyramidal Museum of Islamic Art, down the road. Not to mention Nouvel’s own Louvre satellite next door in Abu Dhabi. The architect takes as his inspiration a naturally occurring phenomenon of the ‘desert rose’, a layered crystallisation of minerals occurring in salty sand. He designed 539 conical discs to act as ‘petals’ and cast them in glass fibre-reinforced concrete. The neutral-toned finish will provide a foil for the scourge of flying sand that ends up coating even Doha’s steeliest towers after a storm. ‘They symbolise at once the eternity of the desert and its link with the sea,’ he says.

Driving Doha’s palm-edged Corniche is how most visitors will approach the NMoQ – the building creeps up on you that way. But taking the narrower inland roads allows it to properly surge into view. The nimbleness and litheness of the forms belie the heavy brutality of the material, which is supported by deftly placed vertical volumes that form a steel superstructure, anchored into the grainy public plaza.

At the entrance, petals fly outward into archways, and as you pass under, the arrangement appears to blossom before your eyes. The complexity, says Nouvel, is in the connections at each node. Arup engineers in every timezone worked to control the forces at those intersections. ‘The structural system is a mystery,’ concludes Nouvel.

Indoors, the first curiosity you’ll encounter is an escalator, leading up to a second lobby and corridor. Windows, set deep within the voids to minimise harsh light and heat, work with inward-slanting walls to suppress the visitor experience slightly. The wonky walls deliver an effect not unlike walking through a series of Bedouin tents; instead of bearing the brunt of the artefacts, they bear giant, high-definition screens broadcasting historical video reenactments by seasoned directors like Mira Nair and Peter Webber.

Moving into the centre of each gallery are the actual artefacts: tools and runes from prehistory, falconry gear and pearl-fishing equipment from the early years of this 200-year-old nation and finally extraction machinery from Qatar’s recent arrival as a world leader in liquid natural gas. They go on nearly a mile, culminating at the largest artefact of all: a century-old palace once inhabited by the late Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani, now under restoration.  

Nouvel says ‘architecture is the testimony of an epoch,’ and he believes his building and this collection ‘will help develop better understanding and communication between civilizations and political entities.

INFORMATION

For more information visit the The Ateliers Jean Nouvel website

Ten years in the making, the National Museum of Qatar (NMoQ) by Ateliers Jean Nouvel is intended as an important new display case for the country’s history, archaeology and contemporary culture. The massive structure houses 11 interlinked galleries, with visitors taken on a winding 1.5km route from prehistory through to the present day and beyond.

The new building’s dominant feature is its roof – winner of the Wallpaper* Design Award for Best Roofscape. It is a multifaceted sculpture inspired in part by ‘desert roses’, clusters of interlocking crystals that emerge out of the sand to form striking, bloom-like outcrops. Nouvel describes how the concept was created in 3D from the outset, rather than through his conventional sketch-driven approach. ‘To formalise a rose was very diffcult,’ he says, ‘so the whole project was done in software.’

Once the client, the influential Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, chairperson of Qatar Museums, had approved the design, the task of shaping the immensely complex structure was done in collaboration with engineers Arup in London. The NMoQ’s form comprises some 539 discs, ranging from 14m to 87m across, mirroring what Nouvel calls the ‘miniature architectural events’ of the gypsum crystal formations.

‘With its great curved discs, intersections and cantilevered angles, the museum is a totality, at once architectural, spatial and sensory,’ the architect writes. And at 33,618 sq m, it is also substantial. Home to thousands of artefacts and documents, as well as specially commissioned site-specific pieces by artists from Qatar, France, Iraq and Syria, it is set to be the jewel in Doha’s museum district.

The museum is clad with faceted panels of fibre-reinforced concrete, 76,000 in all. These add another layer of geometric complexity to the discs, breaking up their surfaces and bringing a more intimate feel to the clusters of canopies and courtyards they create. Nouvel points out that the ‘contextual approach’ to the building’s design takes centuries of desert living experience and gives it a contemporary twist.

As if to underline the evolution of architectural form, the NMoQ’s spectacular roofscape stands alongside the restored Palace of Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani, once home to Qatar’s royal family and the location of the original National Museum. In Qatar, Ateliers Jean Nouvel has once again gone for scale, perhaps even trumping the mighty dome of the Louvre Abu Dhabi. As presumably intended, the NMoQ simultaneously evokes heritage, place and modernity.

As originally featured in the February 2018 issue of Wallpaper* (W*239)

See more from the Wallpaper* Design Awards here

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Ateliers Jean Nouvel website and the National Museum of Qatar website

Ateliers Jean Nouvel and Dam & Partners Architecten’s new European Patent Office (EPO) building in Rijswijk, near The Hague, was inaugurated on 27 June. The slim yet monumental glass block, which rises up from the flat landscape of the Netherlands, provides the EPO with workspaces, common space for employees and meeting rooms for patent proceedings.

For Jean Nouvel, it was the flat landscape and history of the Netherlands as a country of port cities that inspired his design. Nouvel describes the local area as ‘an earthbound port world’, where buildings are aligned in parallel with the current and the wind like a ‘succession of ships’. Measuring 107m in height, 156m in length, yet is just 24.7m in width, the EPO building lines up with the existing architecture and takes on the appearance of a ship on the water, rising up like a ‘vessel on the horizon’. A flat pool of water graces each long-side of the façade, reflecting the building up upon itself.

The buildings’ two connected parts consist of the ‘New Main’, a 27 storey office building for 2000 EPO examiners, and ‘The Hinge’, a four storey building holding meeting rooms for oral proceedings that connects the new building to the wider site.

Historically located in Rijswijk since 1973 when it was founded with the responsibility of uniting and uniforming patent procedures across Europe, the EPO is Europe’s second largest international public service and employs 7000 people across offices in Munich, Berlin, Brussels, Vienna and The Hague. The EPO is ‘not an EU agency, but the voice of the EU in the patent world’, says Benoît Battistelli, former president of the EPO who saw the building through from its initiation in 2004 to completion in 2018.

‘They wanted the building to represent the institute and an image of unity, they didn’t want a fragmented building, and they also wanted it to be reflective and transparent of the landscape,’ says Diederik Dam, architect and founder of Dam & Partners Architecten of the brief the architects received from the EPO.

Steel and glass are the main materials, chosen to lighten the building in preference to concrete and for greater flexibility across the interior spaces. The frame of the building is the largest steel structure in the Netherlands, while a total of 4,200 glass elements were used to construct the building, covering a total area of 90,000sq m. Another key feature is the double glass façade that holds 198 planter boxes with 300 different varieties of plants tended to by rain pipes, drainage mats and a computer system controls the water supply.

‘One of the main things the EPO was fairly specific about was not only its image or its relation to the urban fabric, but also the quality of the unit itself. For instance it specifically requested the working spaces to always be on an outer façade.’

The examiners, who will occupy the building, are each specialists in their sectors as well as trained lawyers who examine each application for a patent – of which the EPO processes 166,000 per year. The demand for the services of the EPO increased over the past decade – some sectors such as AI, digital technology and software have increased, Huawei are the top applicants from China, while in Europe, Phillips score highest. Some sectors, strangely enough such as memory sticks, have declined to being obsolete in Europe.

‘What I think is interesting is that on the one hand they relate to innovations and in essence the working process is so tradition. This tension is very interesting,’ says Dam, who had to design a very flexible working space for mostly individual working, consisting of intensive and solitary research, yet also allow breathing space for group work and hot-desking. Each workspace has access to fresh air and overlooks the plant façade with views across the landscape.

‘They also wanted to have common space. We added on some features like the roof terrace,’ says Dam, who has a proud moment atop his creation. The roof terrace at the 27th level of the building is sheltered by photovoltaic solar panels that supply the main power system with renewable electric energy. Abstract patterns from the panels shade the plant beds that are criss-crossed with white-pebbled pathways. At ‘port’ and ‘starboard’ the timber decking turns to mirrored aluminium, reflecting the flat horizon-line and endlessly flat landscape.

Across the building green plants permeate the architecture. A Quercus Ilex evergreen oak tree planted on the 26th floor reaches its branches up from its central courtyard to the terrace. In ‘The Hinge’ building, a plant wall spans the stairway from atrium to meeting rooms. Further landscaping will complete in 2020 after the demolition of the old 1970s building.

INFORMATION
For more information visit the Ateliers Jean Nouvel website and the Dam & Partners Architecten website

Architect Jean Nouvel opens up about highlighting the Pontos’ ‘charateristic of simplicity’

Following previous Wallpaper* and Maurice Lacroix collaborations – which began in 2009 and have featured the talents of Gwenaël Nicolas, Arik Levy, Neil Barrett, Rodolfo Dordoni, Patricia Urquiola and Kris Van Assche – architect Jean Nouvel was inclined to push the Pontos’ archetype ‘to its limits, making it clearer and more substantial’, while designer Oki Sato’s approach was to view the watch ‘like a white canvas’.

This two-part video series compliments the original story of the project in the December 2017 issue of Wallpaper* (see W*225), and features exclusive interview content and contributions from both collaborators. As Oki Sato says, ‘A watch is composed of so many small components that are beautifully linked to each other and create a single, harmonious story. Beautiful architecture is the same. The Pontos project wasn’t so much like designing a watch, more like designing a small piece of architecture.

We’ve always had a good thing going on with Maurice Lacroix. Earlier this year, the Swiss watchmaker invited Wallpaper* Bespoke to reimagine its classic ‘Pontos’ design. We added Jean Nouvel and Oki Sato to the mix. Here’s what happened next…

‘Just as an architect will establish a style in his or her work that is immediately recognisable, the ‘Pontos’ has particular characteristics that make it instantly identifiable as a Maurice Lacroix design,’ says David Sanchez, the Swiss watchmaker’s product director.

‘With Jean Nouvel and Oki Sato we have two highly respected names, from different generations, with two very different approaches to their work,’ says Sanchez. This year, the pair have been invited to reimagine the Maurice Lacroix Pontos ‘Day Date’ model.

A classic combination of craftmanship and design, the ‘Pontos’ model has been at the centre of Wallpaper’s previous collaborations in the Maurice Lacroix Bespoke series, which began in 2009. Back then, we asked product and interior designer Gwenaël Nicolas, industrial designer Arik Levy and fashion designer Neil Barrett to reconsider the 'Pontos Décentrique GMT' model. By 2011, architects and designers Rodolfo Dordoni and Patricia Urquiola, and fashion designer Kris Van Assche had contributed to our design collaboration.

‘Design is key to everything we do and we don’t want to be limited in any way,’ says Sanchez, who is based at the watchmaker’s manufacture in Saignelégier. Jean Nouvel was similarly inclined to push Maurice Lacroix’s ‘Pontos’ archetype ‘to its limits, making it clearer and more substantial by employing a single material, stainless steel’.

Nouvel says he wanted to highlight the Pontos’ design’s inherent simplicity, using the plainest numerals, most slender hands, and glass with as little shine and reflectivity as possible. ‘When you achieve this balance of tension, you will succeed in giving an object character. It’s all about the scale of the watch in relation to the size of the individual, and the scale of the watch in relation to the strap, which needs to be relatively abstract to give more presence to the object itself. These are all the parameters you use to integrate an object into a context. The context in this case is a man’s wrist', says Nouvel.

Oki Sato’s approach was to view the watch ‘like a white canvas’. ‘The “Pontos” is not standard. It’s not basic. But it’s inspiring in a very pure way,’ he explains. Sato also wanted to give the design a life that wasn’t about simply wearing a watch: ‘I think we have to think differently about watches now. The next role for the watch is more about the notion of objects that you live with.’ He placed the ‘Pontos’ within a domestic interior: ‘I came up with the idea of a cuckoo clock. The watch lives and functions as part of a clock, then you remove it and wear it on your wrist.’ The colour and finish were paramount considerations. ‘Because I wanted something that really blends into a room, I chose a matt white with a bit of pink gold as detailing.’

As Sato points out: ‘A watch is composed of so many small components that are beautifully linked to each other and create a single, harmonious story. Beautiful architecture is the same. So, for me, the Pontos project wasn’t so much like designing a watch, more like designing a small piece of architecture.’

A version of this article originally appeared in the December issue of Wallpaper* (W*225)

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Maurice Lacroix website

This month marks Wallpaper’s coming of age: our 21st anniversary. It’s also my tenth year as editor-in-chief, having switched from being creative director in April 2007. I must confess that my coming of age came a number of years earlier. Time flies.

One of the earliest projects I worked on in my new role was our inaugural October Guest Editors’ Issue. Now, many media outlets have given over their editorial reins to appropriate talents in order to bring a fresh perspective and generate some PR buzz. But because of Wallpaper’s multi-faceted editorial remit, we felt our spin on the concept should be equally all-encompassing – we would invite not just one, but up to three diverse creatives each year who would reflect our offering, but also push us to try new things.

So year one saw a purist industrial designer, Dieter Rams, an iconoclastic artist, Jeff Koons, and a much-more-than-a-fashion-designer fashion designer, Hedi Slimane. To rebalance the unintentional male bias for 2007, the next year saw Louise Bourgeois, Zaha Hadid and Rei Kawakubo bring art, architecture, and fashion girl power to our pages. Subsequent editions have seen Karl Lagerfeld, Philippe Starck, David Lynch, Robert Wilson, Kraftwerk, Christian Marclay, Lang Lang, Ole Scheeren, Taryn Simon, Laurie Simmons, Elmgreen & Dragset, Frank Gehry, Jean Nouvel, William Wegman and Liz Diller have fun at our expense. That makes 21 in total, and therefore a convenient excuse to take a retrospective look, as well as request some updates for our latest issue. (Our thickest issue yet, the spine also happens to measure a serendipitous 21mm)

In addition to a 20-plus page section within the magazine, each of our Guest Editors was also invited to design a cover. Many called for unusual paper technologies – Hedi used specialist printing inks to simulate glitter, whereas Karl invited readers to strip the Dior Homme suit off his muse by means of a peelable layer. Starck constructed a transparent front cover using three layers of tracing paper. And Kraftwerk’s Ralf Hütter tacked on a pair of 3D specs, to go with his 3D cover portrait and portfolio of exclusive images tied to key Kraftwerk compositions.

If I had to pick one favourite project it would be Zaha’s. Her cover was a gatefold construction using multiple die-cuts, while inside she produced a 16-page die-cut sculpture, which was a take on her ‘Lotus’ room installation at that year’s Venice Biennale. ‘I want to put a big hole in the magazine’, she told us. We dutifully obliged.

Zaha was profiled by art critic Matthew Collings, who visited her at her London offices and provided a pleasant distraction from discussions about cement. Collings and ‘Big Z’, as he affectionately called her, hit it off immediately. ‘Her architecture is the greatest art of the moment,’ he said.

So it’s a huge pleasure for me and I think a fitting tribute to Zaha (who tragically passed away 18 months ago) that this anniversary issue’s cover was created by Zaha Hadid Architects and its principal and torchbearer, Patrik Schumacher.

Enjoy this special issue and raise a glass to Big Z.

Tony Chambers, Editor-in-Chief

As originally featured in the October 2017 issue of Wallpaper* (W*223)

Our thickest issue yet, the spine also happens to measure a serendipitous 21mm, in keeping with our celebration of 21 years, and 21 guest editors

INFORMATION

The October 2017 issue of Wallpaper* is out now. Subscribe here

What apparently sealed the deal for the owner of this apartment on the 28th floor of Jean Nouvel’s eponoymous Le Nouvel Ardmore were the dusk colours, and the unobstructed 270-degree southeast views of Singapore’s green canopy and distant skyscrapers from the master bedroom.

‘She wanted the apartment to emulate the light blue and grey colours of the fall evening sky, when the light is less intense,’ says Bobby Cheng, the founder and lead architect of the Singapore-based Brewin Design Office.

To ensure there would be no contrast or visual break between the living spaces and the sky, Cheng has swathed the 380 sq m three-bedroom apartment in untreated Arctic grey granite and Prussian grey marble floor. Meanwhile, a silver stucco-coated ceiling and tints of silvery white and blue stucco further conspire to create the impression of the interior blending seamlessly with the exterior.

The level of bespoke detailing is impressive, particularly since the Hong Kong client literally uses the apartment as a vacation pied-à-terre for her twice or thrice yearly visits to Singapore from her American base. All the timber joinery was sourced and fabricated in Australia: white oak, American walnut and figured maple dominate. In the bathrooms, blue, black and beige travertine subtly reinforce the natural colour palette the client is so fond of.

‘It was a challenge to source unique stones,’ Cheng says. ‘We actually viewed stones in quarries before cutting them.’ The specified furnishings, too, hew closely to a calm cool palette – to wit, creamy Christian Liaigre sofas and armchairs, Jim Thompson cushions, pale Minotti leather benches, Apparatus chandeliers, and coral-patterned Tai Ping rugs.

For Cheng, the living and dining rooms are the most impactful for their quiet blend of horizon, colour, and views of the sky. ‘On certain evenings during the dusk light, the greyish blue sky is literally an extension of the balcony surfaces, with the edges of the building completely masked.’

INFORMATION
For more information, visit the Brewin Design Office website

‘Who’s the skinhead with the beard, tight suit and tattoos?’ A few years ago, a distinctive looking chap appeared on the front row of the fashion shows and caught the attention of other regular attendees. ‘He’s the buying director for MyTheresa,’ replied one sage. This particular tattooed gentleman was Justin O’Shea and he was definitely rocking a ‘Thing’. And he was getting noticed. O’Shea came from a humble background. Prior to his Thingness, young Justin grew up in a remote village in Queensland, Australia, working in mines with his dad and shifting boxes at supermarkets. Now he was an unmistakeable feature on the fashion circuit with an exploding social media profile boosted by numerous half naked selfies. Some dismissed him as a bit of a joke. Others said he was a smart guy who knew his fashion retail and also knew how to project himself as a brand – as a Thing.

Fast forward to July 2016 and O’Shea is no longer on the front row but on the catwalk, taking a John Galliano-style bow for his debut collection for Brioni. His appointment as creative director a few months earlier raised eyebrows as he had no formal training or experience as a designer. But it was a reflection of the changing responsibilities of such a role and of the industry and society more widely. It’s no longer just about being able to design or oversee a collection, it’s about communicating a style and a vision. It’s about being an ambassador who projects that vision. It’s about being noticed and talked about. It’s about having a Thing!

I wish I had a Thing. I realised some years ago that anybody who is really successful, who has really made it, has a Thing. I’m doing all right, but if I had a Thing I’d be big. I’d be someone. A Thing gets you noticed and remembered. ‘Do you know Tony Chambers, the editor of Wallpaper*?’ ‘I don’t think I do… oh, hang on, is he the xxx guy with the xxx? Yes, sure I know him.’ Being noticed and  remembered seems to make you better.

Think of Le Corbusier. Would he have been as successful without those black, thick-framed round spectacles? Richard Rogers has his brightly coloured collarless shirts, while Jean Nouvel keeps it monochrome. Peter Marino’s career took off after he adopted the Tom of Finland look. John Pawson keeps it minimal, of course – he has his NOthing.

Steve Jobs had his black polo-neck and 
dad jeans – the low-key thing. While Italian industrialist Gianni Agnelli always wore his wristwatch over his shirt cuff. A bling thing!

Fashion designers are undoubtedly kings of the Thing. Alber Elbaz ‘owns’ the big bow tie and Rick Owens ‘owns’ elegant goth, while John Galliano has borrowed just about everything – currently settling on a sober Savile Row gent Thing. Karl Lagerfeld has about five Things. The greedy Kaiser has his powdered ponytail, his high-necked starched shirts, ever-present dark glasses and fingerless gloves, and his celebrity pussy, Choupette.

Although copper is his big Thing, designer Tom Dixon also had a pet Thing. Until her recent sad passing, Dixon would always be seen at cocktail events with his pet poodle, Molly. Even Molly had a Thing – she had to be carried as she was deaf, blind and 120 in dog years. Dixon also proudly sports artfully dishevelled curly hair, rides a vintage motorbike, and was apparently the first person in London to go sockless.

Ron Arad has his ever-present trademark hat, gallerist Rossana Orlandi her oversized eyewear, and Marcel Wanders has his 1970s playboy Thing. Karim Rashid, Jack Mama and Nina Tolstrup are the undisputed bright things. And the younger generation of designers are not to be outdone. Bethan Laura Wood does her Boy George Thing, while Philippe Malouin and the Formafantasma boys have made facial topiary their favoured chin Thing.

Photographers naturally understand the power of image. Terry Richardson has his retro porn star Thing and thumbs-up Thing. Juergen Teller is unvaryingly in the shortest of short, sporty, short shorts. And the late, great Bill Cunningham was never without his bright blue French worker’s jacket.

Successful magazine editors are inveterate thingsters. Graydon Carter’s sweeping patrician pelt, Anna Wintour’s bob, Suzy Menkes’ pompadour and Grace Coddington’s fiery red locks are their mane Things. The follicly challenged have to take another tack. British GQ’s Dylan Jones resorted to wearing comically large shirt collars. It may look preposterous, but at least it’s his Thing. He’s got a Thing. I haven’t. Even our Bespoke art director Aneel has developed a personal way of wrapping his shoelaces behind his ankle. ‘It’s my Thing,’ he answered proudly when quizzed by puzzled colleagues.

What could be my Thing? A monocle? Nah – too old fogey. A single bright, block-coloured outfit? Nah – too Rashid. A hat? A cane? A polka-dot bow tie? Deerstalker and pipe? Pants outside my trousers? Not right! I was about to give up when, lo and behold, I had a Thing bestowed upon me. Last year I contracted vertigo, an inner ear condition resulting in room-spinning, nausea, loss of balance and, subsequently, deafness in my right ear. All rather unpleasant and irritating, but at least I now have my Thing. ‘Tony Chambers? Oh, is he the wobbly guy with the ear trumpet who vomits involuntarily? I know him, he’s a legend!’

As originally featured in the October 2016 issue of Wallpaper* (W*211)

Designed by Shigeru Ban and Jean de Gastines, Paris’ new music venue La Seine Musicale has now opened to the public on Île Seguin. A new icon of the 21st century and a gateway to west Paris, the building had to be bold of course, something to rival the Eiffel Tower or the Centre Pompidou, yet it also had to meet contemporary environmental concerns and respond to how the public use and enjoy leisure space today.

The most striking feature of La Seine Musicale is the egg-shaped auditorium made of glass and a lattice of timber laminate from a woven spruce wood and accessorised with a dynamic 800 sq m sail of photovoltaic cells, which shields this core from direct sunlight. This agile and entirely solar-powered form is mounted on rails and follows the path of the sun at 15 minute intervals as it progresses, supplying the auditorium with energy.

Inside the auditorium – designed for non-amplified music – there is a warm and organic atmosphere, a contrast to the technology-inspired futuristic outer-shell. Designed to bring audiences closer to musicians, a gentle terrace of seating holds a capacity of 1,150 people. Small tubular pieces of wood, cardboard, and paper tubes were assembled and applied across the ceilings to improve acoustics. As well as this iconic auditorium, La Seine Musicale includes a modular concert hall seating 4,000–6,000, nearly a hectare of roof top garden, the Riffx recording and rehearsal studios as well as space for a resident orchestra.

One of the aims of the architects was to create a public building that would express permeability between interior to exterior space, allowing people to filter naturally through the whole site. This porous quality, rooted in traditional Japanese architecture, was defined through the Grand Lobby, a covered ‘street’ that progresses through the heart of La Seine Musicale and out the other side. This was a route planned by Jean Nouvel, when he set out his masterplan for the Île Seguin in 2010 – a complex task for the long and narrow 2.35 hectare site.

Positioned on the route to Versailles, the slim slice of land has a fascinating history however, once owned by Louis XV who acquired it as a playground for his daughters and as a pit stop for weary aristocrats. Later sold to a laundry company, it then became state property after the French Revolution. After changing hands several times, Louis Renault claimed it for his first factory, opened in 1929 and demolished in 2005, leaving the island up for grabs. After a few false starts, one notably from François Pinault, the Ville de Boulogne-Billancourt initiated a plan for an island of culture that would be master planned by Nouvel.

Other sites on the island are slowly being populated by art galleries and cultural venues. Watch this space, but don’t hold your breath – next scheduled to complete in 2021 is the S17 contemporary art gallery and S18 hotel designed by Baumschlager Eberle from developer Emerige.

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the La Seine Musicale website

ADDRESS

La Seine Musicale
1 Cours de l'Île Seguin
92100 Boulogne-Billancourt

VIEW GOOGLE MAPS

Back in 1987, the same year architect Jean Nouvel gained international acclaim for his Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris, he also presented six aluminium objects at an exhibition held by the French non-profit VIA (Valorisation de l’Innovation dans l’Ameublement), to a much smaller audience. They included an adjustable table on X-shaped legs, an aluminium-and-rubber folding screen, and a very slick toolbox.

These were Nouvel’s first efforts at design – none of which was ever manufactured. But since then the French Pritzker Prize-winner has produced more than 100 pieces of furniture and design, from lamps to doorknobs, while turning out major architectural projects such as Barcelona’s Torre Agbar, the DR Koncerthuset in Copenhagen, One Central Park in Sydney, the upcoming Louvre Abu Dhabi and New York’s 53W53 tower. In 1995, he founded Jean Nouvel Design (JND) as a sister company to his architecture firm, Ateliers Jean Nouvel.

And yet it is no simple feat to go out and buy a Jean Nouvel dining room set. ‘Most of my objects remain confidential,’ he says. ‘Nobody really knows my jewellery, for example. And we’ve worked on chairs few people have seen.’ That’s about to change, as Nouvel sets out to make his furniture more accessible to the general public – and, at the same time, is unveiling the first museum exhibition ever devoted to his design.

Last year, at a celebration for his 70th birthday, the architect confided to his friend Franck Argentin that he wanted to give his design studio a boost. Argentin is the founder of RBC, a network of contemporary furniture showrooms in the south of France. The two first met about 25 years ago at a bullfight; twice a year, Nouvel stays at Argentin’s house in Nîmes during the corridas.

Argentin shared some ideas about how JND might move into higher gear. Then Nouvel asked him to head up the design studio, knowing he could bring his keen eye for what sells, as well as his high-level contacts with furniture manufacturers such as Vitra, Poliform and Cassina. ‘I’m looking to work with producers that are serious and significant,’ Nouvel says, ‘and Franck is in a position to talk with them frequently.’

Argentin accepted, taking up the new position in January of this year (he continues to run RBC). ‘It wasn’t my plan, but the challenge excited me,’ he says, sipping espresso from a polished stainless steel cup Nouvel designed for Alessi. 

The first part of Argentin’s strategy was to create greater synergy between the design and architecture firms. As he explains, ‘Neither side really knew what the other was doing anymore, even though they all work for the same person.’ He moved the JND studio, located in a building next to the architecture studio in Paris’ 11th arrondissement, from the third floor to the ground floor – a simple but effective change. ‘Jean used to drop in to our offices maybe three times a month. Now, when he’s in France, he stops by four times a week.’

Closer collaboration means that JND can piggyback more easily on Nouvel’s architectural commissions. For each new building project, Argentin meets the project leader, to explore how JND can contribute to the interiors and furnishings. ‘That in turn seduces furniture manufacturers,’ he explains. ‘If we know we can already sell 2,000 chairs, it’s more appealing than saying, “We’d like you to produce this, but we don’t know if it will sell.”’

For example, JND suggested designing the kitchen, bathroom and closets for the sales centre of Monad Terrace, a luxury condominium complex that Nouvel is working on in Key Biscayne, Florida. ‘The client is extremely flattered,’ says Argentin, ‘because he has a kitchen designed by Jean expressly for his project, not necessarily more expensive than the one he planned to buy, and afterwards it will be produced around the world.’ The studio completed the designs in time for Nouvel and Argentin to present them at the Salone del Mobile last April, including cabinet panels made of a patented aluminium honeycomb under glass. Nouvel was particularly enthusiastic about his first bathtub. ‘I designed it in marble and wood to be luxurious and rare, but not flashy,’ he says. 

Describing himself as an architect who does design, rather than a designer, Nouvel approaches both fields the same way, using context and function as the starting point and avoiding any recognisable style. His designs are clean and precise – they canlook deceptively simple. He strives for what he calls ‘elementarity’, or a solution that seems obvious once it has been found.

‘When I talk about elementarity – or the essence of a table, a storage system, an office – it’s about how furniture can transform the way we work,’ he says. ‘My “Cases” system is a game of construction that defines the geometry of an office, whether you work facing someone, or with separations between people, or at big common tables. Furniture can provoke evolutions in our attitudes about life.’

Working at common tables in an office furnished with ‘Cases’, the JND team tackles everything from furniture to industrial design to interiors. It has designed braided vinyl flooring for the Swedish company Bolon, as well as a rug made of a single, exceptional sheet of marble for the Italian producer Citco. Its interior design work ranges from a private house in the vineyards of Bordeaux to a chain of new Cacharel clothing boutiques throughout France. And it does scenography, too, such as 62 black shipping containers of different heights for exhibiting replicas of the Lascaux cave drawings in Gwangmyeong, South Korea.

Often, Nouvel will revisit a piece of furniture and improve it over the years – his team refers to these as his ‘obsessions’. It is currently reworking his perforated leather ‘Skin’ sofa from 2008, as well as his 1991 cube-shaped ‘Elémentaires’ armchair, both for Molteni & C. If you visit the JND agency, you’ll come upon more of these obsessions, such as the ‘Oxymore’ chair that he has been tinkering with for more than a decade (now produced by Figueras), with rigid lines but a soft back that reclines. A sleek, cherry-red ‘LessLess’ table is a descendant of one that he designed in 1994 for the Fondation Cartier in Paris. 

Against a back wall sits a striking 5m-long wooden ‘Table au Km’, which Nouvel designed as part of a series of limited-edition pieces for the Gagosian gallery and Galerie Patrick Seguin in 2011. ‘I’m a specialist in tables,’ the architect says. ‘I find them inspiring. I don’t know if there’s a psychological reason – maybe because of their stability. And there’s an idea of mass and transformability. I like tables you can unfold, extend, stack on top of each other. I see geometric games and combinations.’

Geometric combinations are also the basis for a brand new prefabricated house Nouvel designed for Revolution Precrafted, a venture by the Filipino developer Robbie Antonio. In a nod to Jean Prouvé’s demountable houses, Nouvel designed 6m x 6m modules, each divided by sliding doors into quadrants, so the space can be structured in different ways. The units can exist on their own or linked together, and small blocks containing a kitchen, a bathroom or a closet can be attached to the exterior. The walls are insulated sandwich panels, aluminium outside and wood on the interior. Each house is transportable and easy to install in a matter of days. 

The prefab house is being displayed in the Jardin des Tuileries in October, as part of the FIAC contemporary art fair outdoor exhibitions programme in collaboration with the Louvre. Just steps away, the first museum exhibition dedicated to Nouvel’s design will take place at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, from 27 October to 12 February. Titled ‘Jean Nouvel, mes meubles d’architecte’, the show is an overview of Nouvel’s most important pieces going back 30 years, including those original objects for VIA. Certain items will be shown to the public for the very first time, such as seating for the public areas in the soon-to-open Louvre Abu Dhabi.

‘It was high time’ for such an exhibition, says the museum’s director, Olivier Gabet, who got to know Nouvel while overseeing the Louvre Abu Dhabi project. ‘He’s one of the great architects of our time.’ Gabet recalls walking through the Musée des Arts Décoratifs with Nouvel and being struck by the architect’s passion for the Middle Ages and Renaissance collections. They decided to go beyond the temporary spaces and install the Nouvel exhibition throughout the entire museum, all 2,000 sq m, including the permanent collections and the Advertising and Graphic Design museum that Nouvel himself designed in 1998. 

The show is divided into two general themes. An overview of Nouvel’s various design philosophies, from elementarity to transformable furniture, occupies the temporary spaces. The second part, in the permanent galleries, is a dialogue between the museum’s historic collection and Nouvel’s work, such as the limited-edition ‘Triptyques’ mirrors he created for the Gagosian gallery and Galerie Patrick Seguin.

The mirrors, of various sizes, measure up to 2.3m in height and extend as wide as 3.7m when unfolded. Their glass is slightly blurry and softly coloured, giving a new perspective to age-old sculptures and furniture from the collection. ‘They exist to reveal the space around them, reflecting objects in another geometry, another light,’ the architect says.

Hearing him talk, it’s clear that Nouvel is eager to finally put his body of design on public display, and in such a prestigious setting. ‘To show one’s own objects alongside masterpieces from earlier centuries, you need courage, some pretentiousness,’ – he pauses for a moment – ‘and a bit of humility, too.’

As originally featured in the November 2016 issue of Wallpaper* (W*212)

INFORMATION

'Jean Nouvel, mes meubles d’architecte. Sens et essence' is on view until 12 February 2017. For more information, visit Jean Nouvel's website and Les Arts Décoratifs website

ADDRESS

Musée des Arts décoratifs
107, rue de Rivoli
75001 Paris

VIEW GOOGLE MAPS

Checking into Hotel Wallpaper*, this year’s Handmade exhibition at the Salone del Mobile in Milan, proved to be an awe-inspiring experience: a passageway lined with enormous aluminium shapes, bathed in coloured light. The installation was a collaborative effort between a top aluminium supplier, a leader in creative aluminium treatment, and one of the world’s greatest architects.

The Wallpaper* event occupied an arcade in via San Gregorio, for the second year. ‘A humble location,’ says Alex Rasmussen, president of the Santa Barbara-based aluminium fabricator Neal Feay Company, describing it as a ‘crummy, post-war Italian condominium complex’ with ‘oddball storefronts’ and dog-walking residents passing through on their way to the lifts.

It’s no small feat to transform a retail arcade into a work of art, and this year the challenge was magnified by the installation’s ambitious scale. Neal Feay Company flew more than 2,000 aluminium modules from California to Milan, where each geometric element had to be pieced together on site. ‘It was building architecture for a five-day event in a hallway where people are living,’ says Rasmussen, still seeming surprised that they pulled it off. The third generation to run his family business, Rasmussen has modified Neal Feay Company’s focus over the years from aluminium bracelets to audio equipment cases to his great passion: industrial design. The firm has collaborated with design talents such as Holly Hunt and Marc Newson, but this marks the first time it has worked with Pritzker Prize-winner Jean Nouvel and his Jean Nouvel Design studio.

For his part, the French architect is no stranger to aluminium, having used it in everything from the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris to the recently completed Philharmonie de Paris, which he covered with 290,000 bird-shaped anodised aluminum tiles in different shades. 

For the Milan installation, he chose a natural aluminium that would be machined for maximum reflectivity. In contrast to last year’s Handmade exhibition, where the textile company Kvadrat hid the arcade’s windows behind drapes, Nouvel’s art director, Ernesto Mistretta, says they decided to ‘assume the space as it is’, simply rolling down shutters over the shopfronts and drawing the visitor’s eye with the colossal shimmering shapes.

The raw material came courtesy of Sapa, a global leader in aluminium solutions, with headquarters in Oslo. Though the company is present in 40 countries, it generally works behind the scenes, providing aluminium to industries from mass transportation to construction. Hilde Kallevig, vice president of external communications, says that aluminium is unique. But many designers are unaware of its properties, which is why Sapa leapt at the chance to take part in this project and show off the possibilities. ‘Using metal to decorate a rundown arcade and working with a world-famous architect and a company that has made aluminium sexy to the world of retail was a perfect way to showcase our expertise,’ she says.

When mixed with other elements to form an alloy, aluminium can be as strong as steel, at as little as one-third of the weight. (Indeed, Kallevig says, you could jump on the installation’s benches without doing them damage.) Abundant and sustainable, aluminium can be recycled repeatedly. It resists corrosion and can withstand conditions from the Arctic to outer space. And pure aluminium is soft enough to extrude, which forms it into complicated shapes without gluing or welding, like pushing pasta through a machine.

Nouvel took full advantage of the material’s malleability. Inspired by the power of letters, virtual text on smartphones and basic shapes, he designed huge geometric forms – triangles, circles and the Wallpaper* asterisk – for freestanding wall panels and oversized benches.

Sapa supplied Neal Feay Company with two and a half tons of extruded aluminium in flat rectangular panels. Rasmussen’s team cut it into Nouvel’s desired shapes before anodising it, using an electric charge and a dilute acid bath to convert it to aluminium oxide. Anodising is an industrial process that protects the metal, but Neal Feay Company approaches it from what Rasmussen calls a ‘cosmetic standpoint’. For this project, the company developed a special technique to further boost its sheen.

The aluminium surface was finely machined, then Neal Feay Company used a ball-end mill to carve a series of teardrop-shaped recesses that mirrored the light even more. Mistretta says, ‘The tiny indents created an interior play, like small Anish Kapoors.’ Nouvel describes the effect as ‘eroded as if by raining tears that left their trail on the metal’. Raised parallel lines on the metal added another layer of reflectivity. The result, Rasmussen says, was ‘a version of the material that no one had experienced before’.

The arcade’s ceilings are 4m high, and the nine freestanding elements reached practically to the top. Every one of the shapes weighed more than 200kg – each circle, for example, was composed of 135 panels and came in at 270kg. ‘The sheer scale of the pieces in that environment was almost shocking,’ says Rasmussen. ‘It had that ship-in-a-bottle experience.’ 

Lighting was key to the installation. Nouvel’s team attached filters to the existing ceiling lamps, so that light in shades of red, yellow, purple and green bounced off the aluminium and brought it to life, creating different zones of colour along the corridor. Seating was another consideration, and the architect designed asterisk benches – a shape that was both a nod to this magazine and ideal for groups of people to congregate. ‘The Wallpaper* asterisk – a lucky star – was scattered randomly across the stone floor to grab the attention, provoke conversation and draw visitors to the show,’ Nouvel explains.

Kallevig notes that in addition to looking fabulous, the five-armed aluminium benches served an important purpose during the crowded opening night party: ‘We were pleased to see that with a lot of ladies in high heels, they became the centre of attention for sore feet.’ It turns out that the asterisk form lends itself perfectly to function.

As originally featured in the August 2016 issue of Wallpaper* (W*209)

See more from Handmade here and check in to Hotel Wallpaper*…

INFORMATION

For more information, visit Jean Nouvel’s website, the Neal Feay Company website or the Sapa website

One of the region’s most highly anticipated openings, the Louvre Abu Dhabi is gearing up for completion, reaching two landmark moments this month. The construction site’s partition walls, originally constructed to keep water away from the building works, have now been removed, allowing for the sea to flood in and occupy its rightful place in the design. Meanwhile, the museum’s iconic dome has been illuminated for very first time.

Celebrated French architect Jean Nouvel is behind the new museum’s striking design; he envisioned the building as a ‘museum city’ in the sea, seamlessly blending water and dry land. And while the construction site needed to be protected while major foundation and building works took place, the project is now ready to move to its next step. The protection walls’ removal is set to take place in three stages over the next few weeks.

At the same time, installation of some 4,500 lights on the structure’s impressive dome, which was designed to reference the region’s traditional architecture, has also been completed. This is set to produce a permanent lighting effect that will illuminate the structure across both day and night. The 180m wide dome now covers the majority of the 'city', which comprises some 55 separate buildings.

Light and water are two of Nouvel's key design elements, set to create a dual visual effect the Pritzker Prize-winning architect calls a ‘rain of light’ in the interiors.

Upon completion, the Louvre will be a key element of the Saadiyat Cultural District on Saadiyat Island – the country’s major culture and arts hub, that also includes the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi by Frank Gehry and the Zayed National Museum by Foster + Partners.

INFORMATION
For more information, visit Ateliers Jean Nouvel’s website

Until recently, in an industrial suburb of the French city of Nancy, a crowd of swingers held nightly orgies in a club called Le Bounty, unaware the building was a masterpiece of 20th-century architecture. Likewise, the great modernist Jean Prouvé probably never imagined that his Design Office in Maxéville would one day become a 'complexe de détente.'

One of the few people who had long wondered about the fate of this building was Patrick Seguin, the French design dealer who owns the world’s largest collection of Prouvé architecture – 23 houses. Seguin knew the Maxéville Design Office might still exist. He had driven by the original site where it had stood. And he had seen Le Bounty without realising that it was indeed the Prouvé structure – for it was now covered in blue aluminium siding and stuck on top of another building. Unrecognisable, it was hiding in plain sight.

But a few years ago, on a tip, Seguin decided to take a closer look. After contacting the building’s owner, he visited Le Bounty during the day. Ignoring the mirrored disco ball, the false ceiling, the leather club chairs and chequered curtains, Seguin zeroed in on two floor-to-ceiling arches covered in yellow wood. They looked boxier and less graceful than the portal frames Prouvé used as the backbone of his famous demountable houses – but still, Seguin says, 'I knew right away.'

He asked the building’s owner for permission to probe the structure and see 'what was under the carapace.' His team went around the building, drilling holes in the cladding, carefully investigating. 'We were surprised,' says Seguin. 'The whole building was there.' (Though two wall panels had been repurposed as a bar counter.) Not only that, the aluminium had actually protected it over the years. In 2014, Seguin bought it and moved it to one of his warehouses in Nancy.

A major centre for art nouveau, Nancy was also the birthplace of Prouvé, a metalworker and humanist who pioneered the use of folded sheet metal for furniture and architecture. In the 1940s, responding to France’s need for new housing after the war, he developed an ingenious system for prefabricated houses that could be assembled by two people in as little as a day. They were never mass-produced on the scale that Prouvé envisioned, and precious few have survived.

The Maxéville Design Office, which he realised in 1948, was unique. It used the same basic design as Prouvé's 8m x 12m Métropole House, with two load-bearing portal frames and an open interior plan. The addition of a deck and awning enlarged the surface area to 10m x 12m and made the gable roof asymmetrical, 6m long on one side and 4m on the other. Another particularity was the absence of aluminium – Prouvé used only steel for the frame and interchangeable pine panels for the walls. Bay windows in front allowed for plenty of natural light.

Ateliers Jean Prouvé had moved to Maxéville in 1947, installing this house as its design office in 1952. 'The office was a hive of activity,' says Seguin. 'All the decisions around design, creation, architecture, engineering and furniture were made here.' But the experience was relatively short-lived; when the company’s majority shareholder laid off 30 people in 1953, Prouvé disapproved and walked away. The factory was demolished, but the office survived, becoming a restaurant, a plumber’s office and, finally, Le Bounty.

This June at Design Miami/Basel, Seguin will unveil the Maxéville Design Office to the public for the first time, lovingly restored down to the last screw. Back in spring, a visit to Seguin’s warehouse revealed the house under renovation, a meticulous undertaking. Stripped down to its bones, nothing remained of the indignities it had faced as Le Bounty, aside from the name, which Seguin’s team affectionately adopted. The metal skeleton remained in excellent shape, the two portal frames in eggshell-white folded steel, the steel roof a champagne grey. The original pine panels, in poorer condition, were being replaced.

The structure had been the upper floor of a two-storey building. Seguin removed the bottom storey (which had no architectural interest) and wanted to be able to transport and reassemble the house anywhere. He had already faced this challenge with another Prouvé building, Ferembal, originally placed above a garage. For Ferembal, Seguin hired his friend, the Pritzker Prize-winning architect Jean Nouvel, to design a portable base. Nouvel’s response was an arrangement of blocks made from layered sheets of Ductal high-performance concrete that screwed to the steel grid under the floor. By adding or removing layers, builders could adapt the house to any terrain.

Nouvel’s regular collaborator, HW Architecture, has used the same system for the Maxéville Design Office – 12 layered Ductal blocks holding the frame up off the ground. Beyond this, its task was to return the house as closely as possible to its original state. Any changes were minor, such as expanding the entrance from one door to two. The architect overseeing the project, Jean-François Bourdet, finds he is constantly impressed by Prouvé's details: 'an extreme functionality that results in magnificent design.'

Prouvé had fallen out of fashion when Seguin first started dealing in design, in the late 1980s. Now his houses sell for millions. But putting Prouvé in the spotlight has always been a passion for Seguin as much as a business. He publicly exhibited two houses in the Tuileries Garden. He collaborated with Larry Gagosian to show Prouvé architecture alongside Calder mobiles and Chamberlain sculptures. Recently, he invited another Pritzker Prize laureate, Richard Rogers, to adapt a Prouvé house (W*196). He donated the 1969 Filling Station to this year’s AmfAR auction at Cannes, and has sold Prouvé structures to the world’s most discerning collectors; they now serve as everything from Azzedine Alaïa’s bedroom to a Korean tea house.

Whether or not the structures are fulfilling their original purpose, one thing is certain: Seguin has saved many from oblivion – or worse. 'The idea is to give them another destiny,' he says. 'We are giving them a second chance, a second life.'

As originally featured in the July 2016 issue of Wallpaper* (W*208)

INFORMATION

Design Miami/Basel runs from 14 – 19 June. For more information, visit Patrick Seguin’s website

Photography: Benjamin Schmuck

American textile house Maharam has released its second round of artist-designed wallpapers in collaboration with Serpentine Galleries during Frieze New York. This year, the collaboration gathered the multifaceted international talents of Beatriz González, Alex Katz, Jean Nouvel and Raqs Media Collective.

The four new designs join last year’s inaugural release of prints by Ai Weiwei, John Baldessari, Marc Camille Chaimowicz, Toyo Ito, SANAA, Rosemarie Trockel and Lawrence Weiner. Still under the curation of Julia Peyton-Jones and Hans-Ulrich Obrist, the new works follow the same vibrant repetitive patterned theme, all imbued with their own subject matter and mastered using hi-tech digital printing, and high-resolution imagery on the paper.

Each of the wallpapers tells its own artistic story, with a little humour arriving in American artist Alex Katz’s animated dog, Sunny. Realised here in a monochrome palette, he leaves just the blood red tongue of his family dog peeking out as the abstract focal point.

Alternatively, French architect Jean Nouvel paid tribute to the beauty of the English summer landscape with his scorching red and green print. Titled Summer Hours in Kensington, it includes photographs of idyllic English paraphernalia in two opposite hues. When discussing the colour choice, he poetically muses: ‘Red is summer heat. Red complements green. Red is bright, alive, piercing. Red is provocative, forbidden, loud. Red is as English as a red rose, as red as London's iconic objects, a double-decker bus or a telephone box, the transitory places we gravitate towards.’

More solemn works were offered up by Indian artists Raqs Media Collective and Colombian pop artist Beatriz González, who draws on cultural references with her print Wiwa Stories. The pale blue painting captures the plight of 11 people killed by lightning during a Colombian tribal ceremony. Meanwhile, Raqs Media Collective adopt a similar gloomy palette with a line-up of ominously painted bottles called Antidote.

Proudly printed with UV-resistant inks on a washable, latex-reinforced substrate, the wallpapers will be available by the roll at the Serpentine Galleries shop in London or by the linear yard through Maharam.

Following the first round of designs, the new works adopt the same vibrant repetitive patterned themes, all imbued with their own subject matter and mastered using hi-tech digital printing, and high-resolution imagery on the paper. Pictured: Sunny, by Alex Katz

INFORMATION

Wallpapers are available by the roll at the Serpentine Galleries shop in London, or by the linear yard through Maharam. For more information, visit the Maharam website

Arches Boulogne, a social housing project by the young Paris-based office Antonini Darmon, acts as the centrepiece in a mini-cluster of seven buildings in white concrete, designed by seven different architects within a large urban garden. Together, these buildings make the latest addition to Le Trapèze, a new district in Boulogne-Billancourt, the suburb of Paris that, until 1992, hosted the factories of the car manufacturer Renault.

The 74 hectares of the historic industrial site had been stretched along the bank of the Seine – right in the middle of the river’s spectacular loop – including the Seguin island, a future cultural cluster masterplanned by Jean Nouvel.

A scheme highlighted like this, right in the middle of an urban composition 'like a fountain in the middle of a cloister,' has its challenges. Laetitia Antonini and Tom Darmon’s solution is a second skin that envelops the building in a series of arcades. Borrowed from the architectural vocabulary of the former Renault factories and reinterpreted in a contemporary manner, the arcades enable a mix of functions, including privacy and sun protection.

The slightly irregular airy, white arcade rows are graphic and sculptural; and all of the building’s facades are equally important. Long balconies running the length of the facade and concealed behind the arches provide generous semi-outdoor spaces for the residents.

The width of the arches varies according to the facades’ orientation; on the north, they aim to maximise daylight indoors, while on the other three sides they help to provide shade and protect the interior from overheating in summer. With many of the flats having double exposure, this flexible design allows them to benefit from natural light and solar energy throughout the day.

INFORMATION

For more information on the design visit the Antonini Darmon website

‘A museum should belong to a town,’ says Jean Nouvel, as his car carves a dark shadow across the dusty desert scrub to Saadiyat Island, a triangular sandbar off the coast of downtown Abu Dhabi. Nouvel practises what he preaches. His design for the new National Museum of Qatar is based on the local desert rose and he is modelling the forthcoming National Art Museum of China on the Chinese symbol for the number one.

In his latest building in the Middle East, the nearly completed Louvre Abu Dhabi, the architect has taken traditional elements of Arabian architecture and reinterpreted them for the 21st century. The signature of Arab towns, the cupola, dominates the superstructure. ‘The white dome is their symbol for sacred spaces. A museum is a spiritual place, even if it isn’t connected to religion,’ Nouvel says. But this is no ordinary dome. It has a 2,000 ft circumference and weighs 12,000 tonnes (almost double the Eiffel Tower). Yet, because the tops of the four vast pillars that support it are hidden, when you first spy it from a distance, the vast flying saucer seems to float in the early spring heat haze.

Get close and you see the dome is perforated with a complex geometric pattern of almost 8,000 stars, repeated at various sizes and angles in eight different layers, creating a delicate, lace-like form. The desert sun pierces the micro-gaps to create a ‘rain of light’ that falls beneath the dome and changes colour and angle as the sun rises and falls. Nouvel got the idea from the way sunlight dapples through the overlapping palm leaves that are traditionally used as roofing material in the Middle East.

Part of the dome hovers over a traditional Falaj canal – a water channel system, which farmers in the Middle East still use to irrigate their fields. Water flows between the 12 permanent galleries that take up 9,200 sq m of the 87,000 sq m of built-up space, that will be completed later this year, after a three-year delay caused by the global financial crisis. Visitors will walk indoors and outdoors as they make their way through galleries, which are divided into four wings, mirroring the layout of a traditional Arabic souq.

Nouvel’s Louvre is the centrepiece of Abu Dhabi’s efforts to reshape its oil-dependent economy and help turn the city into a new cultural hub. Over the next few years, the largest and wealthiest emirate of the seven semi-autonomous sheikhdoms that make up the United Arab Emirates will sink as much as £20bn into building five major museums and galleries. The Louvre, a £1bn, 30-year cultural joint venture between the Paris institution and Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the ruler of Abu Dhabi, will be the first to open.

It will be followed by the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, designed by Frank Gehry, who has penned a pile-up of translucent cones and gigantic children’s building blocks, 12 times the size of the Guggenheim’s New York flagship. Along the coast, Zaha Hadid is creating a vast performing arts centre that looks like a half-terrestrial, half-marine flower bud.

Next door, Tadao Ando has designed the Maritime Museum to celebrate Abu Dhabi’s trading and sea-faring history. Behind them all, soaring like the tips of a falcon’s wings, will be the towers of the Zayed National Museum, designed by Foster + Partners and curated in partnership with the British Museum. When they are all completed, some time over the next decade, they will form the largest new artistic ‘cluster’ on the planet.

Why is Abu Dhabi sinking its pennies into five new buildings, each of which will rival Sydney Opera House in eye-catching monumentality? Reformist sheikhs argue that for too long the Middle East has been ignored, left out and sidelined in global artistic conversation. ‘Some people think we still live in tents,’ says Mubarak Hamad Al Muhairi, a senior executive who has worked on the Saadiyat project. ‘We want to be part of this world. We want the next generation to know about other civilisations, other cultures, and we want other cultures to know about us.’

Abu Dhabi also wants to attract tourists – more sophisticated ones than those who flock to the beaches of its noisy neighbour, Dubai – and it hopes the new buildings will create a ‘Bilbao effect’. When the new Louvre opens later this year, 600 works from the museum’s permanent collection, plus loans from Paris, will explore the themes of religion, trade, voyage and discovery. Notable among them will be Leonardo da Vinci’s La Belle Ferronnière, Claude Monet’s La Gare Saint-Lazare, Edouard Manet’s The Fife Player, Henri Matisse’s Still Life with a Magnolia, Paul Gauguin’s Breton Boys Wrestling, Andy Warhol’s Big Electric Chair, nine canvases by Cy Twombly and rare African artifacts. 

As originally featured in the April 2016 issue of Wallpaper* (W*205)

INFORMATION

For more information, visit Jean Nouvel's website

Photography: Courtesy of Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority/Louvre Abu Dhabi

The moment a new museum opens, it goes from being an ambitious concept to a multi-purpose institution rooted in time and space. But what about the museums that are conceived but never achieved? To what degree do they exist as architectural works, and what is their enduring value?

These are among the questions that surface in a new exhibition, 'Musées à Venir' ('Museums to Come') at Azzedine Alaïa’s gallery space in the Marais. If the premise seems philosophically open-ended, this particular show proves as precise as the master designer’s tailoring, in part because just two architects are represented: Jean Nouvel and Claude Parent. A generation apart, the former worked under the latter in the late 1960s, and they have intersected each other’s lives ever since. In fact, it was over lunch chez Alaïa in June 2014, that the idea took shape.

As academic and gallery consultant Donatien Grau suggests, the juxtaposition exists as a conversation that can be interpreted on several levels: theoretically, personally, aesthetically. Four works from each are featured, including their separate proposals for the Plateau Beaubourg, 1971 – better known today as the Centre Pompidou. And yet, the architects’ projects are grouped separately on alternating walls versus side-by-side, maintaining deliberate distance like a show of respect.

'They are two very senior architects and on the one hand, it would have been too obvious,' Grau says, of opting against pairing the presentation. 'Both Jean Nouvel and Claude Parent believe deeply in the idea of intelligence – getting you to do a little bit of work. And what is a conversation might have appeared to be a confrontation.'

Still, comparison is inevitable, principally as a function of methodology. Parent’s dynamic drawings for the Nouveau Musée, an unpublished work featured for the first time, testify to the enormous challenge of communicating spatial criteria and visitor flow in two dimensions. Nouvel’s plans for the Musée Lascaux-IV , 2012, and the Guggenheim in Guadalajara, 2005, benefit from computer-assisted design and project a sharper sense of orientation. Where Parent’s text is clipped and aphoristic – 'In the world today, we cannot forget color, just as we cannot forget the black of night and the grey sky' – Nouvel takes an explanatory, narrative approach.

For even more perspective, the book accompanying the exhibition includes works contributed by Marc Newson, Anish Kapoor, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Adel Abdessemed and others—each partnered up to a project to underscore how Parent and Nouvel’s influence prompt new points of departure.   

On the evening of the vernissage, shortly before the arrival of Parent (now 92), Renzo Piano and French culture minister Fleur Pellerin, Nouvel admits that these projects never lose their significance. They serve as the missing links between the realised achievements, a vision that nonetheless responds to a challenge. 'We can consider that the conditions of these projects enlighten perhaps the things that will often happen after,' he tells Wallpaper*. Which is to stay, an unrealised state isn’t a failed state. Rather, these are museums that become timeless, says Nouvel, 'out of necessity'.

INFORMATION

'Musées a Venir' is on view until 28 February. The accompanying book is published jointly by Actes Sud and Association Azzedine Alaïa

ADDRESS

Azzedine Alaïa
18, rue de la Verrerie
75004 Paris

VIEW GOOGLE MAPS

Architects have long turned their hand to product design – from David Adjaye to David Chipperfield and Zaha Hadid – these A-listers have all occasionally thought small in scale and occasionally wiggly. (Yes, Frank Gehry, we’re looking at you!)

To mark our 200th issue, we decided to double our Power 100 into a meaty, two-ton Power 200; an upscaled calibration of design achievement. Or rather 100+100 (normal disservice will be resumed next year) – including the top 20 architects to turn their pencils to product design.

Rising in the ranks are the likes of master multi-tasker Antonio Citterio, great British minimalist John Pawson and the monochromatically stylish Richard Meier. Daniel Libeskind, Isay Weinfeld, Shigeru Ban and Toyo Ito feature prominently as well, pushing the boundaries of product and material ever further. There are also illuminaries like Nigel Coates, Jean Nouvel, Mario Bellini, Renzo Piano and Rem Koolhaas/OMA who have and pretty much done it all. While collaboration isn’t a requirement, many have turned their talents to similar brands, including legendary Italian brand Alessi which counts Peter Zumthor, SANAA, Norman Foster, Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas among their stylish ranks. 

Let the debate begin...

See the Power 200 in full here

INFORMATION
See the Power 200 in full

Fritz Hansen's iconic Series 7 chair is getting a redesign, courtesy of seven of the most famous contemporary architectural practices of our time – Zaha Hadid, Jean Nouvel and BIG among them.

The Danish furniture brand has enlisted the famous names to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Arne Jacobsen's modernist chair, with each starchitect giving the timeless classic a contemporary twist: Zaha Hadid channelled her fluid, undulating forms to create a sculptural base, using two continuous steel rods bent into three legs; Bjarke Ingels' firm BIG replaced the metal legs with a vertical stack of layered seats, gradually flattening towards the base; while Oslo practice Snøhetta have removed the chair legs entirely, making it a social tool 'at one with nature'. Other famous names to take on the challenge include Carlos Ott and Carlos Ponce de León, Jun Igarashi and Neri & Hu.

Exploring the theme of duality by pure happenstance, Jean Nouvel and Neri & Hu have both connected two chairs for their curious interpretations of the 1955 plywood seat. Nouvel's yin and yang seats are decorated with the ancient Chinese symbol, while Neri & Hu's linked chairs are connected by an S-shaped arm rest and supporting table. 

For a splash of colour, Uruguayan architects Carlos Ott and Carlos Ponce de León took inspiration from their Celebra office block project in Montevideo, which featured a 250 sq m vertical garden. Their camouflaged chair is upholstered in multiple shades of green, mimicking and adapting to the verdant background.

Focusing on build basics instead of a design variation, Japanese architecture studio Jun Igarashi have looked to wasted materials from earthquake disasters – specifically, 'oriented strand board', a type of chipboard made of compressed wooden flakes, with legs and edges highlighted in the rose hue that flecks the seat.

The interpretations were first presented during Clerkenwell Design Week earlier this year, but are due to be officially unveiled during London Design Festival come September. If nothing else, they further cement the iconic status of Jacobsen's original design. As Sofie Lindahl-Jessen, Fritz Hansen's executive vice president sales and brand manager, says, ‘it is only a very strong design that you can reinterpret and still develop unique designs from’.

'I see no difference between when I design a chair and when I imagine a building,' explains Nouvel. 'For every challenge posed, I seek the "elementary" object whose finished form corresponds to an idea. It’s always a fitting and unique answer that bears witness, culturally and technically, to our times and to our civilisation'

At Manhattan's Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) on Monday night, a sleek crowd, including architect Richard Meier and former New York Times architecture critic Nicolai Ouroussoff, gathered to fete French architect Jean Nouvel, whose tallest building to date is under construction next door at 53 West 53rd St.

Dubbed 53W53, the 1,050-feet-high residential skyscraper makes use of air rights purchased from MoMA and other nearby buildings to provide views of Central Park and the city's skyline. 'When you are inside, you will feel you are in the sky in New York City,' says Nouvel. Officially, the event at MoMA - during which Vanity Fair contributing editor and filmmaker Matt Tyrnauer interviewed the soft-spoken architect - marked the commencement of sales of the tower's 140 luxury units. Unofficially, the swanky affair that spilled out into MoMA's Sculpture Garden was the beginning of the PR machine surrounding the building, slated for completion in 2018.

The elegant tower, with its glass and exposed steel diagrid structure, will create one-of-a-kind floor plans in the condominiums, ranging from one-bedrooms to duplex penthouses and full-floor layouts. Each unit will have sloping windows and muscular, slanting columns, giving New York-based interior designer Thierry W. Despont a challenging set of parameters.

53W53, which joins Manhattan's new slew of supertalls, has weathered its own share of controversy since it was announced in 2007. Torquing at subtle, oblique angles ('like a snake,' says Nouvel) as it tapers to a sharp summit, the tower was originally slated to be 1,250 feet tall, but neighbours balked and the city asked the architect and developer Hines to lower it (Hines is partnering with Goldman Sachs and Singapore-based Pontiac Land Group on the development).

Then in January 2014, MoMA, who sold 53W53's 18,000-square-foot lot to Hines and Goldman Sachs in 2007, decided to raze the adjacent Folk Art Museum, designed by Tod Williams and Billie Tsien. A future museum expansion by Diller Scofidio + Renfro will link to three of 53W53's lower floors which will be accessed from and connected to MoMA. The replacement of the Folk Art Museum raised cries of protest from architects, critics and the public, who lauded its small galleries and faceted bronze façade. Nouvel, who said the Folk Art Museum was 'a very interesting building' and claimed to be shocked by its disappearance from the site next to his tower, said that keeping the Folk Art's façade and gutting the interior, as was once suggested, didn't make sense.

On Monday night, Tyrnauer showed a brief clip of a documentary he is making about Nouvel before interviewing the architect. When Tyrnauer asked Nouvel about his creative process, he replied that he has to spend some amount of time lying in bed with an eye mask on and earphones in, thinking about his work. 'I don't want to see the light,' he said, eliciting laughs from the crowd. 'The light is inside.'

On a Tuesday afternoon in January, the winter sun glinted off the Philharmonie de Paris as if it had been specially summoned to show off the distinct patterning of cast aluminium and reflective steel. Arrayed in an MC Escher-esque motif, the 340,000 tiles depicting abstracted birds are just one of several spirited and inspired features that define this concert hall as different from all others.

But if its architect (and former Wallpaper* guest editor), Jean Nouvel, deserves a round of applause, he was conspicuously absent from both the press preview and inaugurating concert attended by French president François Hollande. Voicing his dissatisfaction in Le Monde, he wrote that the building remains too incomplete to unveil and requires further architectural and acoustic assessments. To the extent that the rooftop, two restaurants and exhibition space will have staggered openings over the next few months, he has a point. Granted, the project makes its debut already two years late.

Even as a work in progress, the Philharmonie represents the realisation of a building designed to change the way people participate in orchestral music, whether owing to its location on the edge of the city, its outdoor public environment or its educational, rehearsal and cultural programming.

Most of all, the Orchestra of Paris has a dynamic new 2,400-seat hall to call home. Such a high capacity barely registers since the volume projects upward rather than outward in a traditional fan shape (as proof, only 32 metres separates the conductor from the furthest spectator, considerably reduced from 48 metres in the Salle Pleyel, the city’s principal symphonic venue). The other main consideration - one that is truly unique - is that concert venue is actually a hall within a hall; the exterior space one crosses to enter gives way to an undulating wall that enhances the intimacy while optimising the acoustics.

In the press notes, Nouvel describes the auditorium as 'reminiscent of immaterial waves and light', adding how the placement of the balconies creates the effect of suspending spectators in space. Indeed, when those spectators gaze to the ceiling, they see a swirling mass of biomorphic panels that strategically enclose the house and stage lighting. When they look across the hall, they see how the balconies have been framed in wood ornamented with a geometric relief. Everything serves a technical purpose.

'All the floating surfaces provide the lateral reflections [for the sound],' said Christopher Day, founding partner of Marshall Day Acoustics, the New Zealand-based company that previously provided the acoustics for the Guangzou Opera House, built by Zaha Hadid.

Beyond the lyrical birds in their lustrous shades of grey, Nouvel introduced a metal mesh that, like a theatrical scrim, makes the building appear impenetrable during the day (while not obstructing the view outward); at night, the interior light takes over and passersby can see inside.

As with the Musée du Quai Branly, the Nouvel-designed museum of indigenous art near the Eiffel Tower, the space around the Philharmonie is as important as the space within. Those not attending a concert or a class can linger on the steps or climb them to the rooftop looking point which, when it opens in the spring, offers a view of Paris far more eclectic than Haussmann’s uniformity. Up here, the vista encompasses the science museum with its mirrored geode, the former abattoir converted into a festival hall, Bernard Tschumi’s architectural contributions from the late 1980s, and the industrial suburb of Pantin.

The goal, said Philharmonie president Laurent Bayle, is for individuals and families from Paris and beyond (what urban planners now call Greater Paris) to feel that fine music can be accessible. Perhaps this explains the Nouvel-designed signage that rises above the building’s 37 metres (the maximum inhabitable height within city limits) to an additional 15 metres, broadcasting event news to those driving along the central ring road. If you’re stuck in traffic, you might be doubly tempted to purchase tickets for some soothing Satie.

ADDRESS

Philharmonie de Paris
221 Jean Jaurès Avenue
75019 Paris
France

PHONE
33 1 44 84 44 84

VIEW GOOGLE MAPS

A leaky ceiling, in simplest terms, registers as an unusual way to celebrate an architectural landmark. But when each drop has been precisely orchestrated by Diller Scofidio + Renfro for a conceptual work titled 'Musings on a Glass Box', and when that glass box happens to be Jean Nouvel's iconic Fondation Cartier in Paris, the effect is a stirring performance of playfulness and respect.
 
Twenty years have passed since the acclaimed French architect conceived a centre for contemporary art clad entirely in layers of glass, with vegetation providing lush density between the façade - at street level - and the main building. This month also marks the 30th anniversary of the Fondation Cartier itself, which from inception, approached patronage and curation with a multi-disciplinary mindset.

Fittingly, 'Musings on a Glass Box' (opening on 25 October) uses sound, video, industrial design and countless engineering elements. 'We began to think very minimally,' said Elizabeth Diller from the Fondation's eighth floor, overlooking Paris. Partner Ricardo Scofidio offers: 'We wanted to be aware of the architecture in a distinct way.'
 
At the installation, this is imediately clear. Visitors enter and looking left, discover a robotic red acrylic bucket coasting around the floor, seemingly aimless until it senses that a droplet of water will be released from one of 12 points in the ceiling. It then pivots and darts to collect the leak. Simultaneously, a series of signals are sent via wireless transmitter to the second gallery to the right, where a giant LED screen suspended horizontally 1.2m from the ground projects a wavy, watery view of Nouvel's ceiling. Visitors can watch this play out from caster-footed loungers that slide under the screen.
 
Also inside the bucket, a microphone synced to the drop's impact amplifies the thump, while an external receiver converts it to a choral swell with ambient aftershocks. For this, Diller and Scofidio enlisted longtime collaborator Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Lang, who worked with sound designer Jody Elff in order for hundreds of recorded ethereal choir and instrumental options to trigger what he describes as 'a wild, randomised musical experience.' Lang notes how the remarkable cathedrals around Paris nudged him to think about the sound and its reverberations as a duality: 'absurd' in one room and 'sublime' in the other.
 
Meanwhile, the gallery windows have been coated with 'smart film' from Glass Apps whereby an electrical current turns the panes progressively transparent or translucent every few minutes. 'Anyone who has used this space has had to contend with the light,' said Diller speaking from experience. This is now their third time working with Fondation Cartier, however, the first in which there has been such a 'flirtatious and mischievous' interaction with Nouvel's design, she quipped.
 
And that levity couldn't be more satisfying for Hervé Chandès, the foundation's general director since 1994 and admirer of Diller Scofidio + Renfro. 'What they've done this time, it's a game - it's an intellectual pleasure, it's a visual pleasure, it's an audio surprise,' he says. 'Of course, it's a birthday for us; but with them, I am always learning new things.'
 
Turn to Wallpaper's October 2014 issue (W* 187) to read an interview with Elizabeth Diller on Diller Scofidio + Renfro's work and their ongoing relationship with the Cartier Foundation

ADDRESS

Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain
261, boulevard Raspail
75014 Paris

VIEW GOOGLE MAPS

The Fondation Cartier for Contemporary Art in Paris is what the French would call sans pareil (or second to none). Though an offshoot of the deluxe jewellery brand, it exists in a sort of splendid isolation from its parent, as no artist who collaborates with the Fondation is ever allowed near Cartier's product development department.

Instead, the Fondation is there to lend the brand's cultural collateral through its impressive commissioning of new work and a collection that now comprises over 1,300 pieces from artist Richard Artschwager to photographer Francesca Woodman.

This year it's 30 years old, and there's plenty to celebrate with the new exhibition, Vivid Memories, which makes the most of the Fondation's insistence on blurring boundaries between design, music, film and fine art. Jean Paul Gaultier made dresses from bread here in 2004, and the Velvet Underground spontaneously reunited for a quick gig in the grounds of its previous home, the gorgeous Chateau of Jouy-en-Josas.  

Currently Marc Newson's satin-finished Kelvin 40 prototype plane appears to have skidded into the ground floor gallery and nearly missed a dazzling new collaboration-by-email between the diminutive Italian octogenarian Alessandro Mendini (designer of the famously large and multi-coloured mosaic-speckled Poltrona chair) and British painter Peter Halley - a towering block decorated in the pulsating colours that Halley frequently uses and Mendini adores. Issey Miyake's delicate paper lanterns flutter overhead. In another room, Ron Mueck's vast sleeping woman induces vertigo, thanks to its utter defiance of normal scale.

Exhibits will rotate throughout the show's run, while one-off events will pop up all summer, including a night time introduction of the bats who live in the Fondation's beautiful stepped gardens, designed back in 1994 by artist Lothar Baumgarten. It will be led, on 12 July, by Patti Smith, another polymath who has a long and intricate relationship with the place. The exhibition program is also accompanied by a beautifully produced anniversary tome, published by Thames & Hudson, and host of other printed materials.

It turns out the company's perfume division does inhabit a few floors of the Fondation's perfectly transparent building, designed by Jean Nouvel in 1994. But not that you'd know it. Here, the art most definitely rules.

ADDRESS

Cartier Fondation
261 Boulevard Raspail
75014 Paris, France

VIEW GOOGLE MAPS

Gagosian’s sparse, slimline space in London’s Mayfair is perfectly suited to stage the latest project by Jean Nouvel, the French architect and longtime Gagosian collaborator who often ventures into art and design.

Nouvel’s Triptyques - hefty three-panelled mirrors oriented toward the gallery's glass façade - add many more dimensions to the room, pulling in shadow and throwing around light, animating the scene, no matter how static. A more substantial space would dilute their impact.

The three-panelled triptych format has obvious religious connotations, but Nouvel is ambivalent about that connection. Though he does acknowledge a link to stained glass, which can arouse a variety of sensations depending on the intensity of the interacting light, the purpose of the hinged structure, he stresses, is physical rather than metaphysical.

‘The triptyques,’ he says, ‘are windows that open onto the interior. They open up spaces of their own and reflect the complexity of the existing architecture.’ More important than looking at them like independent sculptures, he says, is ‘to see them as something to integrate with the surroundings, like a contextual object. They change our perceptions of the architecture and create questions.’

He achieves this ‘interactive system’ with the mirrors, each topped with a sheet of clear glass to accentuate the perimeter and integrate light into the edges. ‘This creates lines of light,’ he says, ‘like rays.’ The movable mirrored panels amplify the light that gets caught in the volumes, creating flashes of radiance as well as mysterious shadows and ambiguous depths – effects Nouvel calls ‘brilliant and aggressive’.

Nouvel is known for his employment of red, but here it is deep and ominous, bringing to mind Mark Rothko’s murals for the Seagram Building in New York. The red interacts with yellows and aubergines, ‘the green-ness of bottles, the dark blue of night, the deep red of the best wines.’ Literally and metaphorically, they colour each different reflection ‘like a live display’.

Knowing this, it can be intimidating to ‘get inside' the windows, which are often angled forebodingly. But the scale of the pieces allows it and Nouvel encourages it. ‘When you put your head close up in the sharp space, it is so surprising,’ he says. ‘Wonderfully unexpected.’

A small room at the rear of the gallery is furnished with a single piece – Nouvel’s 2011 Boîte à Outils, an oversized toolbox, opened to reveal his new shoe design for the Italian trainer brand Ruco Line. The architect has launched a limited-edition silver version of his Pure rubber and leather boots specially to complement the mirrors of the Triptyques show. The boots will be available only through the Gagosian’s website.

Reissued a limited-edition silver version of his Pure rubber and leather booties specially to complement the mirrors of the Triptyques show. The boots are available only through the Gagosian's website.
Read more at http://www.wallpaper.com/architecture/jean-nouvel-tryptiques/7340#JerckDKHf1rptRjL.99

reissued a limited-edition silver version of his Pure rubber and leather booties specially to complement the mirrors of the Triptyques show. The boots are available only through the Gagosian's website.
Read more at http://www.wallpaper.com/architecture/jean-nouvel-tryptiques/7340#JerckDKHf1rptRjL.99

A small room at the rear of the gallery features Nouvel's Boîte à Outils, a tool box that opens to reveal a limited-edition silver version of his Pure rubber and leather boots for Ruco Line to complement the mirrors of the Triptyques show. Photography: Dave J Hogan/Getty Images for Gagosian Gallery

a limited-edition silver version of his Pure rubber and leather booties specially to complement the mirrors of the Triptyques show.
Read more at http://www.wallpaper.com/architecture/jean-nouvel-tryptiques/7340#JerckDKHf1rptRjL.99

a limited-edition silver version of his Pure rubber and leather booties specially to complement the mirrors of the Triptyques show.
Read more at http://www.wallpaper.com/architecture/jean-nouvel-tryptiques/7340#JerckDKHf1rptRjL.99

a limited-edition silver version of his Pure rubber and leather booties specially to complement the mirrors of the Triptyques show.
Read more at http://www.wallpaper.com/architecture/jean-nouvel-tryptiques/7340#JerckDKHf1rptRjL.99

ADDRESS

17-19 Davies Street
London W1K 3DE

VIEW GOOGLE MAPS

Swedish architect Mia Hägg worked with Atelier Jean Nouvel, and later as an associate with Herzog & de Meuron, on big projects like the Olympic Stadium in Beijing before setting up her own Paris- and Locarno-based practice in 2007. Hägg named her firm 'Habiter Autrement', hinting at her desire to explore the field of public housing and quality urban dwelling. Her latest work, a collaboration with Atelier Jean Nouvel (for which Habiter Autrement acted as the lead architects), is three social housing developments in Bordeaux, France; the award-winning Lormont, Armagnac and Cenon buildings.  

We caught up with Hägg to find out more about the projects.

The amount of space in the Bordeaux housing you designed with Jean Nouvel is striking. How important was size in your design? 

It is the measurable difference. These flats are 50 percent (or more) larger than usual. For us, space was the first luxury, then we had simple façade materials and interiors. When you look at public housing today, you have this strict brief that you need an entrance hall, a corridor, a separate kitchen and eating area. Everything becomes compartmentalised. We worked with open lofts and tried to find new ways of dividing the space. 

How did the different environments in Bordeaux inspire your design decisions?

In the competition brief they asked for one type of apartment that could adapt to every site. We did the opposite. We started with the site every time, then developed a typology that enhanced it in some way. In Armagnac it was an old industrial site, so we decided to make it like New York lofts with roof terraces. Instead of walls, we worked with cheaply built wooden furniture, which becomes partitions. Lormont was a reaction to the existing master plan. They had made parallel bars, so that instead of looking at the river, everyone looked at their neighbours. It was crazy. We developed a saw shape to maximise views. And you have a cinematographic view of the bridge, like a low-angle shot. 

Does your emphasis on light have to do with where you grew up?

I cannot sit inside in good conscience when it's sunny outside because I grew up in northern Sweden near the polar circle. I think that in Sweden you are extremely conscious about the sun, about natural light, probably more than when you grow up somewhere with abundant light.

Please talk to us a bit about your collaboration with Jean Nouvel.

I know him so well, he's somebody who's extremely fast, he doesn't need to spend lots of time on something before he gets a clear idea of what he wants to do. I was lead architect, so the whole production was done in my office. Then we had brainstorming sessions together and discussed certain key issues. We share the basic idea that a project should always be a mutation of something that's already there - the built context or landscape. And he's one of the few 'star' architects interested in the question of social housing.

What else are you working on?

I have a housing project under construction in Paris. The space is not as generous as in Bordeaux but we decided to make double-height loft apartments. And we are working on a stadium with a green roof in Spain. It's on hold but I would like to see it happen.

What do you like about collaborating? 

It's only by balancing your ideas with someone that you really get further, and start to question what you're doing. We often bring in people from other domains: artists, sociologists, climate consultants. 

How has the global financial crisis affected your work?

I really chose the worst time (laughs). I set up this project, won this competition, then everything collapsed in 2008. But I wanted my own company. When you work in these highly competitive, high-performing offices, the average age is low, and if you want to develop your own thinking, you have to move on. It was not the right time if you look at the economic situation, but it was the right time for me.

As well as transforming cityscapes the world over, French architect Jean Nouvel has a growing portfolio of furniture to his name. His latest collection is Mia, a characterful range of outdoor tables and chairs in steel and aluminium for Italian brand Emu - all jaunty angles and simple lines. Originally designed for the Mia restaurant at the new RBC Design Centre in Montpellier (another Nouvel creation, opening this autumn), they have now been put into production.

We caught up with the designer at the Salone to find out more...

How did the collection for Emu come about?

I am an occasional designer. I do design when my clients ask, for example they might request a bed when I design a hotel, and so on. Frank Argentin, the owner of RBC, asked me to design this new building in Montpellier, which has a large restaurant. He suggested Emu and I was happy with this because I haven't very often had the opportunity to create an inexpensive product for a large market.

Describe your approach to furniture design?

The nature of the way I design is to research the 'elementarity' of something. I am an architect and I design like an architect. I am not a designer who is like a stylist, which is very often the case now. I research the essence of the product. A lot of people say [my work] is minimal. It is the opposite of minimal. I don't research to simplify the shape. I research the character and the function of a chair or a table.

What inspired the collection and what were the challenges of creating it?

A chair for me is probably the most difficult problem. I am not the first to say that. Mies van der Rohe said it is more difficult to design a chair than a skyscraper. It is such an obvious thing that has been designed for millenniums. We have so many chairs. So I tried to design with my religion; my religion of elementarity. I listened to the technique of the Emu company, as I needed to use their tools. I researched their spirit and character. I wanted the collection to have a simple identity and I found this very simple articulation - the [angular] joint to the pieces. I think she is a little bit optimistic, smiling perhaps.

We fought on every detail to keep this very simple thing. When you look at the chair, you think perhaps it is not complete, just the beginning of a chair...

Does it reflect the architecture of the building, in any way?

No, it's not in relationship with the character of the building but I think RBC is very simple and elementary of course because it's my style. I researched to create something complementary with my building, with a little bit of my spirit.

Is limited edition something you're doing more of?

I sometimes do products for only limited edition, like the Gagosian - the tool box and the table. I began to design furniture a while ago and now I have a showroom in Paris with a selection of 30 or 40 products to establish a good reading of my work. I have no image as a designer because I usually just create one product at a time. I am not Philippe Starck, I am not turning out ten products every year, so I want to establish and understandable attitude and style in this showroom because you can understand the meaning of this 'elementarity' when you see all the products together.

In a spectacular installation that challenged gravity, as well the traditional ideas of flooring, Jean Nouvel reinterpreted Bolon's new Create collection at the Stockholm Furniture Fair. We caught up with the French architect and Bolon's directors, Marie and Annica Eklund, to find out more.

How did the collaboration between Bolon and Jean Nouvel come about?
Bolon: We always like to show our material in an artistic way and to challenge ourselves. To us it's important to see Bolon's material with new eyes and think outside the box. Jean Nouvel is a creative force in both design and architecture and has seen potential in our flooring for some time so it was an obvious choice for us.

Jean Nouvel: I used Bolon for the Musée du Quai Branly in Paris, so have known and respected Bolon for a long time. To put carpet down there would have been a disaster, but I still wanted a material that was kind, hardwearing and tactile. It was also important to me that the material was something that was impressive when looked at from afar, but still interesting when up close. Bolon ticked all these criteria for me then so I began a relationship with the company.

What inspired the installation at the Stockholm Furniture Fair?
JN: My idea was to use the Bolon material as not just flooring but to create a Bolon universe, exclusively a universe of floors: no ceiling, no walls... just floors. Equally I thought it was important to incorporate people in the installation, to see them react to it, lie on it, touch it and so on. At first I was going to use regular mannequins but following on from Xavier Veilhan's sculpture of me in Versailles in 2009, I decided to make four copies and use them. I thought it was very funny having four flies like this. As an architect you have to take the opportunity for a bit of humour when you can, as designing buildings can feel like quite a serious business.

How has Nouvel's installation inspired the future of Bolon?
Bolon: Today Bolon is a 100% flooring company, but with this installation the idea of blurring the edges between floor, ceiling and walls was born. Who knows where the future of the material lies? Perhaps we could even cover the façade of a building?