The Story Continues on the Place du Palais-Royal
The new building, designed by architect Jean Nouvel, will mark the third major chapter in the history of the Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain
The Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain, 261 boulevard RaspailFondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain
The Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain has announced that it will move from its current location on boulevard Raspail to 2 place du Palais-Royal, in the heart of Paris, at the end of 2025.
Fondation Cartier, un nouveau lieu pour l'art contemporainFondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain
The new building, designed by architect Jean Nouvel, will mark the third major chapter in the history of the Fondation.
Jean Nouvel
" It is in places where history has already manifested itself that modernity has the duty to assert itself, given that these historical places were places of modernity in their day."
Palais-Royal construction siteFondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain
The arcades designed by the architects Charles Percier and Pierre Fontaine, under Napoleon I, root the building in the district’s architectural harmony.
Palais-Royal construction siteFondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain
Originally constructed as part of Napoleon III’s urban redevelopment initiative, it was first inaugured as the Grand Hôtel du Louvre in 1855, then became the Grands Magasins du Louvre in 1863 and was eventually converted into the Louvre des Antiquaires in 1978.
Jean Nouvel
"This emptiness is the site of expression, the basis of all possibilities. It is important to understand that it is not a question of building a space but of bulding in space. This emptiness is the site of expression, the basis of all possibilities."
Palais-Royal construction siteFondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain
Entirely open to the outside, the facades are composed of large bay windows that open up onto the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, Rue de Rivoli and Place du Palais-Royal, offering both visitors and pedestrians fresh perspectives of the city through the building.
The new site encompasses 8,500 square meters of public spaces; 6,500 square meters of exhibition space, with five mobile platforms covering 1,200 square meters, which can modify the surface area and enable the creation of layered vertical spaces which can reach up to 11 meters.
Palais-Royal construction siteFondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain
Set within the Haussmannian structure, his design makes use of unprecedented technology, comprising five mobile platforms that can modify the surface area and circuits within the building, creating an immense stage for contemporary art.
The powerful platforms can hold extremely heavy works and display them in entirely novel ways. Here, it is possible to do what cannot be done elsewhere, by shifting the system of the act of showing.
View of the construction site of the future spaces of the Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporainFondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain
The Fondation Cartier has continuously reinvented itself since its establishment. Singularity, transparency, and modularity —will follow it upon leaving the Boulevard Raspail for the experience of a fundamentally different environment for the third time in its history.
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