The new museum for the Pinault Collection, designed by Tadao Ando and set in the heart of Paris in the reimagined Bourse de Commerce, is about to throw open its doors to the public. This is one of the country's most anticipated cultural projects of the year, created by the Japanese architect for businessman François Pinault and transforming the city's former stock exchange into a concrete-infused, minimalist mecca for art.
Ando and his team worked with the original structure’s character, blending it with his signature smooth yet crisp concrete volumes and geometric forms. This only enhanced the historical building's magnificent period features, such as its central rotunda, dome and murals.
Further contributions enrich the new cultural institution's architectural and design experience. Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec developed the Bourse's furniture; NeM Architectes worked with Ando on the architecture; and chefs Michel and Sébastien Bras have overseen the design of their restaurant, the Halle aux Grains. The Bouroullecs also created the street furniture around the building, elegantly announcing its presence.
Flag by Studio Bouroullec.
The most prominent intervention sits under the main dome. Ando slotted a cylindrical three-tiered structure into the building’s main rotunda. This will be used for gallery displays, complementing further exhibition space outside this central grand hall. An auditorium, a generous, bright foyer and a black-box theatre for video installations and experimental performances can be found in other parts of the redesigned building.
This is not the first time Ando has collaborated with Pinault – the duo won Best Double Act in the 2021 Wallpaper* Design Awards, just a few months ago, for their 20-year-long professional relationship and string of fruitful joint projects. The Bourse's transformation follows similar projects for the Pinault Collection’s Venice locations, Palazzo Grassi and Punta della Dogana.
‘I wanted a museum that would transcend fashion and be timeless,' Pinault told Wallpaper* of the Bourse de Commerce project. ‘Tadao Ando is an exceptional architect who seeks to trace a new path by combining Japan’s rich traditions with the evolution of modernism in the West, creating harmony between the individual and his environment. He knows how to subtly create a dialogue between shape and time, between a building and its era.'
The Bourse de Commerce – Pinault Collection launches officially on 22 May. The opening show, aptly titled ‘Ouverture', takes the visitor through the ‘opening of new windows, new perspectives', says Pinault Collection CEO Jean-Jacques Aillagon. The exhibition of curated pieces personally picked by Pinault, will be complemented by new work around the building, by artists such as Urs Fischer, Maurizio Cattelan and Philippe Parreno.
‘Vertical Light’, a 17-meter tall modular luminaire especially designed by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec and made by Flos Bespoke for the Bourse de Commerce – Pinault Collection, Paris. ‘Observed from below, the installation is delicate, almost transparent and ethereal,’ say the designers. ‘As you go up, its decisive physical presence is progressively affirmed.’
‘Horizontal Light’, a modular luminaire especially designed by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec and made by Flos Bespoke for the Bourse de Commerce – Pinault Collection, Paris.
Urs Fischer, Untitled, 2011 (detail).
Flag by Studio Bouroullec.
Maurizio Cattelan, Others, 2011.
Tarek Atoui, The Ground, 2019 (detail).
Louise Lawler, Helms Amendment, 1989.
David Hammons, Oh say can you see, 2017.
Work by Xinyi Cheng, as part of the ‘Ouverture’ exhibition.
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