Fondation Cartier and architecture

The building of the Fondation Cartier first appeared on Paris maps as a result of the  extension of Rue de Rivoli, during the first phase of the major public works conducted by Baron Haussmann. Built in 1854-1855 during the expansion of Rue de Rivoli, at the time of Paris’s first Universal Exposition, the building respects the disposition of the architects Charles Percier and Pierre Fontaine with its uniform stone façade resting on a row of arcades. Five storeys high, the building was home to the Grand Hôtel du Louvre and the Grands Magasins du Louvre, which remained there for almost a century, shaping the cultural and social life of central Paris. With his transformation, Jean Nouvel is showcasing the existing architectural urban elements that are synonymous with the historical modernity of the 19th century. 

In December 2013, the Fondation Cartier entrusted the architect with the mission of redesigning the site in order to create a new space for contemporary art. “We need to gain in space from above, below, and in the transversalities of the building. In short, we need to expand the space”, he immediately stated. From this reflection the idea of a giant internal “machine” merged, with vast platforms that could rise and fall beneath the glass ceilings covering the mezzanine. Installing this unprecedented setup inside a heritage building that had already undergone various modifications proved to be quite the challenge.   

The building, with four access points, offers a space of 8,500 square metres that is open to the public, of which 6,500 square metres represents exhibition space, spread across the basement, ground floor and the first floor, based on a modular architecture in which different eras are brought face to face. 

Five platforms, each measuring between 200 and 340 square metres, which can be adjusted to different heights, make up museographic device inserted at the center of Fondation Cartier’s building. Behind its fully preserved façade, this dynamic architecture creates an unexpected combination of volumes, voids and spaces, thus reaffirming the modularity of the cultural institution, and the centre stage afforded to innovation in exhibition making by the Fondation Cartier’s project. 

The interior architectural landscape makes for an impressive sight: retractable ceilings and mechanical guardrails transform the light and perspectives, offering an ever-changing experience. 

With this transformation, Jean Nouvel brings out the architectural and urban elements of the 19th century, with the addition of tall bay windows that run all the way along the façades. The transparency reinterprets the display windows of the past, offering passers-by a complete visual experience. The addition of a glass canopy, reminiscent of those that once featured on Rue de Saint-Honoré and Rue de Marengo, reinforces this unique urban unity and merges the experiences of the street, the historic arcades and the interior spaces. 

Architecture has influenced the Fondation Cartier’s programming ever since its beginnings. In 1994,the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain left the Domaine du Montcel in Jouy-en-Josas and moved to Paris, at 261 Boulevard Raspail, in a glass and steel building designed by Jean Nouvel. This open site broke with the “white cube” aesthetic in favour of dynamic materials that opened out both onto the garden and the city.  Making its mark on contemporary urbanism, this building, full of reflections – eight floors of glass and steel – plays with the variations in light, offering an unprecedented context to artists invited to exhibit there. 

Opening out onto its garden, the Theatrum Botanicum, designed by German artist Lothar Baumgarten, broke down the barriers between inside and outside. “Everything is in motion, reflected in the interplay of horizontal and vertical rhythms, and the changing of seasons.”,  commented the artist at the inauguration of its garden.