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A group of leading French architects have denounced a plan to renovate the Gare du Nord, one of Paris’s main train stations, calling the designs that would turn the station into a glassy, mammoth, restaurant-filled shopping mall “indecent,” “absurd” and “unacceptable.” — The New York Times
Plans to drastically expand and modernize Paris's foremost train station were unveiled in 2018 with a commitment to meet the increased travel volume during the Olympic Summer Games in 2024 and cope with the more complex arrival procedures of British nationals in the post-Brexit era. An open letter... View full entry
Along the banks of the Rhône and Saône rivers in Lyon stands an unmissable new tower designed by the famed architect Jean Nouvel. The 16-story building's pastel-colored facades and angular parapet present a stark contrast to the tower's more traditional industrial and residential apartment... View full entry
[...] the museum site is surrounded by the urban landscape of a modern city, but it still remains under the influence of the desert and the sea, the French architect tells The Art Newspaper in an interview in his Paris studio.
Hence his choice of a design inspired by the desert rose, a flower-like cluster of gypsum crystals, which he sees as the “most powerful symbol of the desert, and the influence of wind, time and water”.
— The Art Newspaper
Interviewed by The Art Newspaper, Jean Nouvel talks about his design process that lead to the creation of the monumental National Museum of Qatar which opened in the capital city of Doha this week. "The place has become a pedestal for images, a sort of transmitter, a tattooed museum," Nouvel... View full entry
Following over a decade of planning, the National Museum of Qatar finally opened its doors to the public today. Designed by Ateliers Jean Nouvel, the 560,000 square-foot museum was built with a complex structure of interlocking curved discs and cantilevered angles, which was inspired by the... View full entry
Last week, the final piece of the third and highest apex of Jean Nouvel’s first residential skyscraper was anchored and installed over Midtown. 53 West 53rd Street now stands 1,050 feet tall, and is currently the 7th-tallest skyscraper under construction in New York City. — New York YIMBY
If the introduction of 432 Park Avenue, the 1,300-foot-tall Rafael Viñoly and SLCE Architects-designed apartment tower wasn't a jarring enough addition to the New York skyline, the completion of a controversial second building will soon normalize the movement towards ultra-tall residential... View full entry
All architects must be fully responsible for the political conditions and consequences of the projects they accept; any position that would make them only an executant constitutes an insult to their function and their ability to act. — The Funambulist Magazine
"This Monday, we were many in Algeria, in France, and elsewhere to be shocked when we learned that the Wilaya (prefecture) of Algiers had signed a convention with the region of Île-de-France (Paris’ region) whose President is a conservative Republican politician, and French architect Jean... View full entry
The National Museum of Qatar, designed by the French architect Jean Nouvel, is being inaugurated on 28 March 2019 [...]
Nouvel, who also designed the Louvre Abu Dhabi, drew inspiration from the crystalline forms that emerge in the desert as the basis for his design with curved discs, intersections and cantilevered angles.
— The Art Newspaper
Aerial photo. Photo: Iwan Baan"The architectural study which initially was coupled with the programmatic study," explains the project description on Ateliers Jean Nouvel's website, "brought to light the underlying paradox of this project: to show what is hidden, to reveal a fading image, to anchor... View full entry
The architect behind 53 West 53rd wanted the tower to be synonymous with New York City, to be a building that couldn’t easily be slipped into another skyline.
“A worldwide catastrophe today is the number of buildings that are parachuted because they were preconceived. Offices, housing, shopping malls all look the same,” Jean Nouvel told The Real Deal, translated from French.
— The Real Deal
Mini video interview with 53W53 'MoMA Tower' architect Jean Nouvel, produced by The Real Deal. 53W53: Jean Nouvel's "New York" Building. Video via The Real Deal on YouTube.The 1,050-foot luxury tower topped out a few days ago and ranks now—along with Renzo Piano/FXFOWLE's New York Times... View full entry
Back in January, the Jean Nouvel-designed MoMA tower was on the heels of reaching its full 82-story height and now, that milestone has been accomplished. Last week, the long-awaited supertall, named 53W53, topped out and it now stands at 1,050 feet tall, tying with the New York Times building and the Chrysler Building as the city’s sixth tallest building. — Curbed
Jean Nouvel's ultra-luxurious MoMA tower 53W53 is now topped out to its full height at 1,050 feet. Once completed, the tower will include 145 residential units designed by Thierry Despont, amenities, and new MoMA galleries and a restaurant that are expected to open in 2019. You can check out... View full entry
Starchitecture is out of fashion these days, but it can still produce visual wonders. The look of the Louvre Abu Dhabi, designed by Jean Nouvel, might be described as Arabic-galactic. In the form of an immense, filigreed gray half-sphere resting on a low base infiltrated by water channels, it could pass as a spaceship, an unfinished mosque or a Venetian pavilion set on the edge of the Persian Gulf. — NYT
Holland Cotter reviews the new building and collection/inaugural installation, of the Louvre Abu Dhabi. View full entry
The Louvre Abu Dhabi has finally opened its doors a decade after the agreement between the French and Emirati governments was signed to establish the mega-museum on Saadiyat Island. [...]
An underwhelming entrance via a nondescript car park might be improved in years to come by an adjoining garden. “It should appear in a few years,” Nouvel said, adding that this was dependent on funding.
— The Art Newspaper
The video above shows the installation of Giuseppe Penone’s sculpture ‘Leaves of Light’ and the beautiful movement of the spots of light coming through the structure's massive dome. © Louvre Abu Dhabi, Photography: Mohamed SomjiAlso watch Jean Nouvel describe his design for the "first... View full entry
The French architect Jean Nouvel has defended his Louvre museum in Abu Dhabi, a massive domed complex that opens in November, from accusations it was built by exploited and abused migrant workers. [...]
In an interview as the finishing touches are put to the colossal construction, the architect dismissed accusations over exploited workers as an “old question” and insisted conditions for those building the museum were better than for some employed in Europe.
— The Guardian
"A 2015 a Human Rights Watch report," The Guardian explains, "suggested migrants working on the Louvre museum and neighbouring Guggenheim, part of a £18bn 'cultural hub' on Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi, were subjected to conditions amounting to forced labour including summary arrest and... View full entry
As the brand-new rendering above shows, the luxury condo tower designed by Jean Nouvel will boast an unusual amenity: floors 2, 4 and 5 of 53W53 will serve as new gallery levels for the Museum of Modern Art when construction is completed. Additionally, according to a fact sheet, "benefactor W... View full entry
Mr Pouille posted pictures of the museum's exterior, including its 7,000-tonne dome, which shelters many of the museum's gallery spaces while creating a microclimate for its internal plaza areas.
They also show the Louvre Abu Dhabi's concrete beach, whose steps have been designed to act as an amphitheater-like public gathering space and viewing platform, just opposite the main museum complex.
— The National
Ludovic Pouille, the social media-savvy French ambassador to the UAE, has posted photos from his recent visit of Jean Nouvel-designed Louvre Abu Dhabi on Twitter. The opening of the museum is... View full entry
On this episode, we discuss the biggest news items of the past week, covering: the political bent to the AIA's Gold Medal being awarded posthumously to Paul Revere Williams; Jean Nouvel's legal battle over his "defiled" Paris Philharmonie; and BIG's new proposal for a giant, riverside mixed-user... View full entry
