The Long-Awaited Fondation Louis Vuitton Will Open Its Doors In Paris On October 27

Image by Bertrand Guay/Getty

A gigantic glass-encased structure overlooking the Jardin d’Acclimatation, a popular children’s park, is coming up on the northern edge of the Bois de Boulogne in western Paris. Visible from far away sailing above the trees, the Fondation Louis Vuitton appears to be a ship floating on water, mirroring the river nearby. American-Canadian architect Frank Gehry, who’s heading the project, terms it an iceberg encircled by a cloud in what is a revolution in the use of glass in architecture, where translucent panels are positioned to reflect different colors and light patterns throughout the day. Having built a reputation in fashion, the French luxury goods conglomerate LVMH (Moët Hennessy - Louis Vuitton , which includes Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior and Givenchy among its many brands) desired a more permanent place in the art world and unveiled a striking design by the 85-year-old architect housing a new cultural foundation that Bernard Arnault, Chairman and CEO of LVMH, views as a logical follow-up to his company’s extensive sponsorship of the arts.

Mostly though, this monument dedicated to contemporary art (it includes a restaurant, 360-seat auditorium and forum and lower-level gallery that may be used for live fashion shows) will demonstrate Arnault’s role as the penultimate tastemaker and LVMH as an institution devoted to fostering high culture in France and abroad. The new building may also allow Arnault to score a publicity coup against his luxury goods rival, François Pinault, owner of Christie’s, Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent, who abandoned plans to build a museum for his contemporary art collection outside Paris, after years of red tape, and acquired the Palazzo Grassi in Venice instead.

On site, the edifice soars 46 meters high, resembling a ship made from a confusion of wood beams, steel and aluminum, where we can see the complex fastening mechanism. Composed of a succession of white shapes punctuated by four tree-lined terraces, the imposing iceberg with a white concrete façade, strange and chaotic with its curves and angles, seems to disappear under immense glass canopies composed of 12 twisting glass sails that were subject to tests of high wind resistance and form the defining feature of the building, demonstrating esthetic audacity and technical prowess.

The unique characteristic of this architecture is that every element is different. A sub-layer of black insulating material, then 19,040 white custom-cut Ductal (ultra-high performance concrete, a ductile material that beautifully expresses shape) panels – a veritable conundrum of geometric precision to respect the imposed layout – covers a hull of 9,200 sqm comprising the iceberg’s facades. The 13,500 sqm of external glass surfaces are constituted from 3,584 panels of the same size, curved or fitted, installed on a structure of wood and steel. Each piece of glass has a unique shape, respecting the architect’s complex design.

This envelope will allow the creation of spaces housing a permanent collection formed from Arnault’s vast corporate and private collections of art, including 20^th-century classics from Picasso, Yves Klein, Henry Moore and Andy Warhol and modern work by Agnes Martin, Frank Serra, Jeff Koons, Pierre Huyghe and Gilbert&George, and the organization of temporary exhibitions of the work of established and contemporary artists like Jean Dubuffet, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Francis Bacon or Damien Hirst. Based on an art collection that is mainly contemporary, the Foundation’s purpose is to support art and creation and to promote its national and international outreach by welcoming all audiences. Its tasks include: exhibiting permanent collections, showcasing temporary exhibitions of modern and contemporary art, organizing multidisciplinary events, developing educational activities and programs – notably aimed at young audiences – and organizing meetings and talks with outstanding artists and cultural partners.

This building, which is also a showcase of technological savoir-faire, won the Building Information Model Prize of Excellence awarded by the American Institute of Architects and the 2012 National Grand Prix of Engineering organized by the French Ministries of Ecology and Productive Recovery, which rewards teams of engineers and architects that have succeeded in uniting their talents and skills to conceive exceptional projects. The engineering teams of the LVMH group applied themselves to retranscribe Gehry’s imagination. No less than 600 people worked on this colossal project: 250 on the construction site and 350 architects, engineers and technicians, spread out in different workshops in France and in Europe, on the conception of the building and the manufacture of the pieces of glass, wood and metal.

Gehry and Arnault had met over a decade ago. Arnault had contacted him and invited him to Paris to discover the site where he hoped to install his future foundation. Gehry was overcome by emotion and immediately imagined Marcel Proust going for a stroll in the Jardin d’Acclimatation. When designing the building, the architect drew initial inspiration from the history of the 18-hectare park, which had been a favorite spot among stylish Parisians for leisurely walks in the 19^th century and was transformed into a family recreation park in the 20^th century. For Gehry, this space – whose initial vocation was to play host to the world’s civilizations and cultures – was emblematic of the history and lifestyle of Paris.

Created in 1860 by the greatest urban planners of the time, who were commissioned by Napoléon III and Empress Eugénie, and modeled on London’s Hyde Park, the Jardin d’Acclimatation – the capital’s oldest park – was witness to many great moments in the history of the end of the 19^th century and of the 20^th century. Thanks to the buildings, some intact from the 19^th century, the park offers visitors a snapshot of the Second Empire. Today, it is a hive of activity with gardeners, landscape architects, animal keepers, vets, beekeepers, riding instructors, grooms, saddle-makers, blacksmiths, stonemasons, roofers, carpenters, puppeteers and train drivers taking care of the kitchen garden, promenades, military dovecote, puppet theater, small train, amusement rides, merry-go-round, remote-controlled boats, horse-drawn carriages and the restoration of historical buildings. The garden has been revamped over the last four years to protect its original design and 400 trees replanted.

“My inspiration always starts with the client, with their needs and their dreams,” Gehry says. “They come to me with a program, a site, a budget and a perspective on the project. I draw my inspiration from all of those factors. The most important thing for me is that the client is happy with the way that the building functions. In the case of the Fondation Louis Vuitton, Bernard Arnault came to me with a beautiful program and vision for the project. He walked me through the Jardin d’Acclimatation, and I could almost feel Proust there with me. I wanted to be sensitive to the beautiful landscape while providing Bernard with the interior spaces that he needed for the art. The glass of the building is meant to create an ephemeral presence in the park – to reflect the beautiful trees and the ever-changing sky. Neither Bernard nor I wanted a heavy building.” The structure, which echoes the constantly-changing world, transforms with the hour of the day and the altering light, creating an idea of impermanence and unceasing change that is reminiscent of the shifting universes of art and architecture.

Gehry believed that the idea of a glass pavilion was the only possible way forward as he wanted to express a notion of transparency. The concept of a dream-like cloud came to him because glass has a historical legitimacy in this garden. To display art in such architecture, he conceived a double skin like a glass sail. Mirroring the world around it that evolves endlessly, these sails change according to the seasons, time and light. Intent on creating the impression of ephemerality, his first drawing expressed this moving fluid line. Climbing the staircase through this transparent cloud, visitors will appreciate how the building opens on to the garden and how nature enters inside – with no barrier between the structure and the park – and the impressive views of the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe and La Défense.

“The issue of transparency was generated from the site,” Gehry notes. “Building in the Bois de Boulogne required a sensitivity and a delicacy that respected the environment and the history of the park. It had to be related to the trees, garden and the 19^th-century architecture (the Grand Palais and old Palmarium). It couldn’t be something solid. I wanted to express transparency, to play with the sky and the leaves. We wanted the building to be inviting and to make people feel like it is part of the garden. In fact, there are outdoor terraces at every level that people can inhabit. The garden is brought into the building. I was looking for movement and lightness with the glass and a modern way to express the beauty of the material. I have told Bernard that this is a glass regatta in the garden.”

Paris is in fact Gehry’s preferred city, having lived there for a year in the 1960s, where he discovered good wine and started to speak French fluently, and he couldn’t have created this building anywhere else. He notes, “Each project that I design has its own challenges because each project has a different site, budget, schedule and program. I take on these challenges as opportunities to make the design unique and specific to the site and the client. The Fondation Louis Vuitton could not be built anywhere else in the world – it wouldn’t fit. Some may say that the site was challenging, but I would say that it was a great opportunity.”

The building is a symbol of Paris, a city with a constantly-changing cultural and intellectual scene. Gehry remarks, “I have always been interested in art. I have many artist friends, and apart from that, I have always been attracted to fashion. When I was discovering the world, Paris gradually came to be my favorite city. So I am especially proud that Bernard Arnault and [the late] Yves Carcelle chose me to carry out the architectural project of this Foundation. I am enthusiastic about designing a splendid vessel for Paris that will symbolize the cultural vocation of France.” Supported by sponsorship from LVMH, the Foundation is Arnault’s way of paying homage to France for all it has allowed him to achieve. A private investment of public interest, he will gift it back to the City of Paris in 2068.

The Foundation will express values of excellence, know-how and creativity that underpin the worldwide success of Louis Vuitton, which since its establishment in 1854 has opened itself to art and artists. For almost 20 years, the brand has developed its activities along artistic and cultural lines, maintaining a close relationship with contemporary artists (Stephen Sprouse, Takashi Murakami, Richard Prince, James Turrell and Olafur Eliasson). It is thanks to these efforts that the company’s initial inspiration for the Foundation was able to take shape since it was first imagined in 1992: “Creating a Foundation supported by this sponsorship became a priority. This is an exciting new space and concept intended to stimulate dialogue with a wide audience, and offer artists and intellectuals a platform for discussion, inspiration and reflection,” explains Arnault.

Fascinated by architecture (Arnault trained as an engineer) and a great connoisseur of art, he has always defended the artistic commitment of LVMH through an ambitious and generous sponsorship policy. The group supports cultural, educational and humanitarian projects benefiting the general public and young people in particular, in France and throughout the world, for example 30 national exhibitions showcasing Poussin, Cézanne, Picasso, Dubuffet, Matisse and Gauguin. LVMH had developed the idea of using corporate sponsorship in areas of public interest to enhance and communicate the values of the group’s companies, and it became one of the first corporate sponsors of the arts in France. Restoration of important works of art is supported by the group and an unusual initiative for young people centered on artistic training and education has been created.

The creation of a foundation is a tangible and enduring symbol of the group’s social commitments. “Creativity is the characteristic that is shared by all of the outstanding brands in our group,” Arnault divulges. “It is what enables us to be leaders in our sector. By establishing a sponsorship policy, our aim was to share part of this economic success with our environment, customers, staff and shareholders. The building of a Foundation, which channels the somewhat ephemeral nature of this sponsorship into a more long-term setting, seemed to us to be a logical conclusion.”

Gehry distinguishes himself from other architects by his original work process: he starts by giving his imagination free rein in the construction of a series of models to have the lines resemble his sketch, culminating in the model that will actually be built. His ideas evolved through discussions with Arnault who was personally involved in the design. Gehry respected his wish that the museum be integrated into the children’s park. Faithful to his usual methods, he worked initially with models that he crafted by hand, before developing his creations with the aid of adapted computer software from the aerospace industry. Gehry Technologies had developed the Digital Project software based on the Catia tool of Dassault Systèmes, which allows high-performance scalable 3D modeling. This exceptional software, which manages large-sized digital models, made it possible to create the complex forms imagined by Gehry in 3D, like the 12 curved sails and the iceberg’s surfaces where the envelope and fastening details had to be defined with exactitude, and enabled close collaboration between the different teams working simultaneously on a common model. The 3D model evolved according to the construction schedule, which allowed the fixing of sequences of tasks in time and space.

Such innovation for the design of the building required the association of several partners: Setec Batiments, a leading engineering consultancy in France, which carried out the structural design of the building and coordinated all of the design elements; Studios Architecture, an international architectural practice that finalized and planned the architectural conception of Gehry and his Los Angeles-based consultancy, Gehry Partners; RFR+TESS, a French architectural research consultancy that designed the glass sails; the Paris office of IBE Consulting Engineers that worked on the water supply and waste requirements of the building; and Alep that was responsible for the landscaping and harmonizing the building with its surroundings.

“All the companies were chosen for their expertise and excellence,” Gehry comments. “We worked hand in hand thanks to Digital Project. The software and studies let us achieve the building I had in mind in my first sketches and in the different models we made. The forming of the glass represents a decisive innovation. The glass canopies (verrières) are composed of approximately 4,000 curved panels measuring 3m x 1.5m. The scale of the verrières combined with the absence of geometric repetition necessitated the construction of unique ovens with adjustable bending beds. Individual glass sheets were precisely located on conveyors, heated and then bent to a cylindrical geometry that approximated the theoretical design surface. The curved glass was then attached to a stainless steel frame that would be used to erect the panels on the verrière structure. This was achievable through close collaboration between Gehry Partners, the Italian glass subcontractor and local team members in Paris.”

In terms of the basic concept of the project and its construction, the building of the Fondation Louis Vuitton flouts the very principles of architecture and is proving to be one of the greatest technological challenges of the 21^st century, marking the beginning of a new era. Gehry is revolutionizing the use of glass to give life to his vision of a luminous, flowing building. Instead of a classical approach to glass surfaces, he developed a radical technique for working with this traditional material, which enabled him to create slender, fluid forms. A furnace was built specially to fulfill the architect’s requirements of curvature and tapering for the individual panels comprising the glass roof. Life-sized prototypes were produced and tests conducted on site and in the laboratory. More than 150 designers and developers pooled their skills to bring the project to fruition. Gehry’s building will embody the true spirit of the Fondation Louis Vuitton: unique, creative and innovative.

The building adopted an exemplary environmental approach in its development and construction. This is based on the 14 criteria of the high environmental quality (HQE) standard, which include the relationship of the building to its immediate surroundings, the management of a site with low environmental impact, an integrated choice of building materials, systems and procedures, the management of energy, water and building waste, long-term environmental performance, acoustic and visual effects and the health impacts of the building. Establishing efficient waste traceability has meant that waste is monitored carefully and an ambitious objective of 75 percent recycling can be respected. This target was already achieved during the demolition of two pre-existing buildings. The excavation of 120,000 m³ of earth met the same environmental principles: the different strata were separately excavated according to their composition, so that they could be treated, recycled and reused.

The building utilizes geothermal technology, a natural and renewable resource, to control temperatures within the museum. The project’s water system has been designed to reduce water consumption. Rainwater is collected, stored and filtered so that it can be used for the basin fountain, building maintenance and irrigation. The glass canopies, through the use of white ceramic frit and a reflective inner layer, provide shading that achieves energy savings of approximately 15 percent. Energy consumption is further reduced through the implementation of a displacement air system within the galleries that optimizes air quality while reducing energy use.

However, it wasn’t always smooth sailing. The obstacles were numerous as the concession of the Jardin d’Acclimatation taken out by LVMH was subject to very strict urbanism rules, forbidden to build more surface area than what existed originally, therefore the idea to destroy the disused bowling alley that had shut in 2004 and occupied the Foundation’s site. Situated on land that belongs to the City of Paris, the Foundation also faced long legal battles carried out against it by associations for the safeguarding of the Bois de Boulogne, which led to local authorities halting construction. The administrative tribunal of Paris, a part of the national judiciary system, had revoked the center’s building permit citing its apparent encroachment on the Jardin d’Acclimatation. Opponents to the site had also complained that a new building would disrupt the verdant peace of the historic park. Gehry was distressed and shocked at the threat to his magical creation, but in the end these legal decisions were successfully appealed.

Next up for Gehry is his design of the Emirati outpost of the Guggenheim museum in the UAE capital, which will be the largest Guggenheim in the world and host collections and exhibitions focusing on Middle Eastern contemporary art. He says, “The Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is a wonderful project with a fantastic mission. They are exploring the globalization of art and the interconnectedness of diverse regions through art. It is incredibly exciting and will, I think, open people’s eyes to the great talent coming out of the Middle East, Africa and Asia.” He concludes, “Architecture is for people. My focus and mission is always to create buildings and places that engage people. It doesn’t mean pandering to historical models of the past. It means finding a way in the present to create humanistic environments. Certain styles of art and architecture are about the denial of humanity. Architecture should be inclusive, not exclusive. It is meant to support and elevate feelings. Life is about people, so buildings should be designed for people!”