Inside Fondation Cartier's New Home

Last year, coinciding with its 40th anniversary, Fondation Cartier announced its plans to depart from the standalone glass building Jean Nouvel designed for the institution in 1994. That initial news had a tinge of sadness, given the quality of the building on Boulevard Raspail and how much it was a symbol of the arts institution. But in the ensuing months, as with the exhibition held in Venice earlier this year, the audaciousness of Nouvel's vision for the interior of the 170-year-old building at 2 Place du Palais-Royal became apparent, and the idea of it started to settle in. Fondation Cartier was departing one notable work of architecture for another, with the new home adding flexibility to the mix via five platforms that can be adjusted to eleven different heights, “allowing for numerous combinations of volumes, verticalities, and modulations of light, multiplying the possibilities for programming,” per the institution. Below is a slideshow of photographs of Fondation Cartier's new home, the first half as an empty shell and the latter half displaying its inaugural exhibition, Exposition Générale, which is on display until August 2026.