Our involvement with the Arles Art Center began with the development of the first phase of a master plan study for the LUMA Foundation, intended to create a new facility for the display of photography and the visual arts. By combining exhibition spaces with the institute’s archival and artist-in-residence program, we aimed to rethink the conventional museum’s binary model of exhibition versus archive/storage, to produce a dynamic institutional campus focused on the creative process.
Located in a complex of former SNCF train depots known as the Parc d’Atelier, the site has long been the site of the town’s annual summer photographic exhibition. The project also proposed the refurbishment of the existing ‘Grand Hall’ enabling the space to play host to a variety of public and cultural events.
We began the design process in the usual fashion - by arranging colored program blocks on a scale model of the site to explore the distribution of the various functions required of the building by the client. The two upper proposals shown here favored locating the artist-in-residency program at the north end of the site (to the right of model). The two lower proposals put the artist-in-residency spaces elsewhere - across the main street (to the left of model). The location of the tower-like structure, conceived for as the home of a new gourmet restaurant on top, was also studied via each su
The decision was made to place the majority of the new construction demanded by the scheme at the center of the site, facing an open plaza and adjacent to the Grand Hall (images on left). The organization of the program was further studied via the evolution of a number of different configurations. One proposal (upper right) had an asymmetrical profile, with the exhibition areas (in red) on the lower levels stepping-up towards the archival spaces in the taller section (on the left). Another proposal (image on lower right) located the archival spaces (in blue) around a central exhibition core
After a period of intense design development we arrived at a final concept with two towers defining a gateway to the Parc d’Atelier from the east. The taller of the two towers accommodates ‘working’ archival spaces above a large temporary exhibition gallery. The smaller tower provides a home for the institute’s artist-in-residency studios. The proposed gourmet restaurant (represented here as a translucent cube) sits atop the taller structure.
The block-like massing of the two structures was inspired by the Roman and Romanesque architecture common in Arles and indeed to the Camargue region of southern France generally.
Our designs for the landscape sought to unify the proposed new architecture with the existing buildings of the Parc d’Atelier. Extensive planting together with the use of fountains provided shade and cool during the hot summer sun. An esplanade of trees bisected by the Grand Hall is intended to connect the landscape terraces on the south end of the Parc d’Atelier (left of model) with the quadrant of buildings at
The proposed landscaped terraces (image on left) were also to provide suitable locations for outdoor sculptural installations. A flight of exterior stairs seeks to connect the Parc d’Atelier’s lower levels with the tower and roof-top restaurant, offering visitors a panoramic view of the surrounding landscapes (image on right).
The LUMA Foundation buildings constitute a new focal point for the renewed Parc d’Atelier and inspirational new facility for the wider artistic community in the Camargue region of Southern France.
In July 2008, our initial proposals were presented as a part of the city’s summer photographic exhibition. Although the project has now been further developed beyond this concept phase, many of the initial design principles remain intact. As with so many of the projects I had the pleasure of being involved with while working with Mr Gehry, I am grateful to have been a part of the initial effort to bring the LUMA Foundation’s aspirations to fruition.
The projects in this section were designed and executed during my time at Gehry Partners LLP (the office). I am grateful to Mr. Gehry and the team at the office for their generosity and support over the years. All intellectual property rights of these projects continue to be owned by the office unless otherwise mentioned. The narrative texts on the projects are entirely personal, they do not represent the views or opinions of the office, its clients or any other third party or organization.