Pritzker Prize-winning architect Frank Gehry will unveil his new building- a rising twisting steel-clad arts tower at Luma Arles on 26 June (subject to Covid-19 restrictions). The 15,000-square-metre tower stands in stark contrast to the older, more traditional architectural setting. It houses exhibition spaces, research and archive facilities, seminar rooms, an auditorium and a cafe for the arts centre. It will also host exhibitions of some of the art world's renowned names. What makes the building distinctive is its façade that clad in 11,000 unevenly arranged  stainless steel panels, broken by numerous protruding glass window boxes. Read more about this great project at SURFACES REPORTER (SR)’s below post:

Also Read: World’s Bizarre Architecture: Frank Gehry’s Dancing House in Prague, Czech Republic

Set to open this spring, the unusual tower is a centrepiece of the new art campus at Luma Arles, spearheaded and funded by the Swiss pharmaceutical heiress and contemporary art collector Maja Hoffmann.

Gehry says in a statement: "We wanted to evoke the local, from Van Gogh's Starry Night to the soaring rock clusters you find in the region. Its central drum echoes the plan of the Roman amphitheatre."

In the Luma Foundation's latest images, we can see that the angular tower has a glass and stone cylindrical base inspired by the city's Heritage Roman sites.

Limestone Cliffs Became the Inspiration

The architect Gehry took cues from limestone cliffs visible at the city's boundaries to create a crumpled, irregular silhouette for the building's façade. The town of Arles is known in the world of art for being home to Vincent Van Gogh, one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. The art centre's income primarily relies on tourism, and the new art centre where Gehry's tower is standing like a showpiece could draw in more tourists than ever before.

Also Read: A House Attack on the Largest Art Museum in Central Vienna, Austria

Luma Arles arts centre is located on the site of a former railyard that has been abandoned since 1986. Recently, a series of contemporary art displays are happening in the already completed art centre. The project's expansion will include a public park, named the Parc des Ateliers, designed by Belgian landscape architect Bas Smets.

In addition to the tower, several existing industrial buildings on the site are being transformed into exhibition spaces by NY-based Selldorf Architects.

Also Read: World’s Largest Basket in Newark, Ohio

So, whether you consider Gehry's constructivist or bold style is too flashy or gaudy, it never fails to catch attention. The Canadian-born American architect is one of the world's leading architects and is known for creating landmarks such as Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, Dancing House in Prague, Barcelona's Olympic Fish Pavilion, to name a few.

Project Details

Source: www.luma-arles.org

Keep reading SURFACES REPORTER for more such articles and stories.

Join us in SOCIAL MEDIA to stay updated

SR FACEBOOK | SR LINKEDIN | SR INSTAGRAM | SR YOUTUBE | SR TWITTER

Further, Subscribe to our magazine | Sign Up for the FREE Surfaces Reporter Magazine Newsletter

You may also like to read about:

Surfaces Reporter Looks Back Over the Life and Best Works of Architect Frank Gehry on his 91st Birthday

Neom: A $500 Billion Futuristic City Project in Saudi Arabia With Plans for Flying Cars, A Fake Moon, Robot Servants and Dinosaurs

Kengo Kuma’s Timber-Wrapped Tower in Sydney, Australia | The Exchange

Highlights of K11 Musea: The Epicenter of New Art and Culture District at Hong Kong

And more…