When a French fashion powerhouse and a structural genius collide, you have the birth of not only an architectural wonder but a form that takes on more than just beauty in building blocks. You have a heaven of creativity and a cultural glass house, literally, designed to support the artistic undertakings of local French and international talents; The Foundation Louis Vuitton.
This architect marvel of transparent sail-like arrangements is of the work by none other Frank Gehry. The Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE Group (LVMH) set out to create an establishment to live within the ever-growing cultural landscape of Paris. Gehry a Los Angeles based world-renowned architect has had his hand at a powerful and playful construction for over forty years. From IAC Building in New York, the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, to the Walt Disney Concert Hall in L.A, at the age 78 he embarked on what would become a testament to his career for the LVMH group’s project.
From sketches through to scale models using wood, metal and plastic, Gehry sees this phase as the assessment process of different aspects of the structure on how the site relates to the building, the building to its environment and interior etc. By then using aeronautical technology to aid the construction, Gehry’s software program developed by Gehry Technologies called Digital Project, was the key to this projects success due to its ability in realising Gehry’s inventive and intuitive design approach in wanting “to design a building that evolves depending on the time of day and the light, in order to create an impression of intangibility and continual transformation,” explains Gehry.
Consuming the good part of eight years to complete (design through to construction), an expansive 126,00-square-foot building on originally what was a children’s park at the Jardin d’Acclimatation, is located in the northern end of Bois de Boulogne the 16th arrondissement of Paris. Its result of many grinding years for Gehry and with a vision for the building to be “a new space that opens up a dialogue with a wider public and provides artists and intellectuals with a platform from debates and reflection,” commissioner Bernard Arnault CEO of the luxe fashion group shelled out an extra large private investment from LVMH to erect the sculpture. A reported $143 million worth of wood, steel and glass (only to name a few materials for the illustrious project) was devoted to try and bring back what some have said Paris hand lost to New York; the core of contemporary creativity energy.
Officially opening its doors on October of 2014, creative commissions, musical events, permanent and temporary exhibitions (not to mention the home of Louis Vuitton’s runway shows) are to be part of the evolving TFLV calendar all while endeavouring to deliver artistic ingenuity to as many people as possible.
Stay dapper.
Robbie – Dapper Lounge
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