Pritzker Prize-winning French architect Jean Nouvel has been selected to orchestrate the metamorphosis of the Île Seguin, an island in the Seine river in the southwest section of Paris, from an abandoned industrial site to an arts center. The island was home to the first Renault factory built in the early 1930s, which following its close was demolished in 2004, when the island was slated for redevelopment. The plan calls for a music hall, theatre and a contemporary art complex complete with exhibition halls and private galleries. The island will also be established as an ‘art free-trade zone’.
Among Nouvel’s other art-related works are the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, also in Paris. In Japan he is best known for the Dentsu Headquarters Building in Shiodome.
Ateliers Jean Nouvel
http://www.jeannouvel.fr/