THE LATEST COLLABORATION BETWEEN TADAO ANDO AND FRANÇOIS PINAULT WHICH TURNS THE 18TH-CENTURY ‘BOURSE DE COMMERCE’ IN PARIS INTO A CONTEMPORARY ART MUSEUM IS SET TO OPEN THIS JANUARY
TEXT: PAPHOP KERDSUP
PHOTO CREDIT AS NOTED
(For Thai, press here)
It was four years ago since the release of the sketches and the news that one of Japan’s most prominent architects would return to collaborate with Bourse de Commerce – Pinault Collection. The contemporary art gallery sited in Paris’ city center, an ideal location that is right between the Louvre and Pompidou Center, is now ready for its grand opening on 23rd January 2021 (call it fortunate or unfortunate, we aren’t exactly sure, considering the opening date was postponed once due to the number of COVID-19 cases in Paris and Europe that hasn’t shown a substantial decrease).
Sketch by Tadao Ando. Courtesy of Collection Pinault – Paris
Ando and Pinault’s previous collaboration was the talk of the town during 2006-2009, when they had transformed a historical 17th-century building in downtown Venice, Bourse de Commerce – Pinault Collection and Punta della Dogana into an art museum. This reunion took place under a similar concept with the two collaborators turning the Bourse de Commerce, the 18th Century building that used to be a trading ground, a stock market, and Paris’ Chamber of Commerce, into a museum of contemporary art, showcasing over 3,500 pieces of artwork (mostly from Pinault’s collection).
The 10,500-square meter space is divided into 10 exhibition rooms and other functional areas such as a 248-seat auditorium and the studio space designed into a black box for showcasing video and sound exhibitions. The highlight of Bourse de Commerce – Pinault Collection is Ando’s iconic exposed concrete wall built in a cylindrical shape, which corresponds with the building’s physical form. The space serves as the museum’s main exhibition room with an elevated walkway that leads viewers to see the fresco paintings installed under the building’s cupola dome.
Courtesy of Collection Pinault – Paris
Ando’s latest work has France’s up-and-coming architect, NeM / Niney et Marca Architectes, as the local collaborator. The Japanese architectural icon has also worked with Pierre-Antoine Gatier, architect and one of France’s most prominent architectural conservationist (some of the work that Gatier was a part of is Eileen Grey’s E-1027), making the design of Bourse de Commerce – Pinault Collection more than just an ordinary art space with the entire design process contributing as the project’s own pivotal conservation tool.