A documentary has been released tracking Pritzker Prize-winning architect Jean Nouvel around the world as he explains and reflects on key buildings in his career – both built and under construction.
The 15-minute film, called Jean Nouvel: Reflections, was directed by filmmaker Matt Tyrnauer, who was given exclusive access to follow Nouvel on visits to several building sites where his projects are taking shape.
Among the buildings featured are a trio of Parisian projects – the Foundation Cartier, the Musee Quay Branley and the Philharmonie de Paris – and the forthcoming Louvre Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.
Explaining his inspiration for the latter project, an intricately patterned dome, Nouvel said: “I wanted to create a reinterpretation in reference to Greek museum. A place not only to look at some artworks but as meeting points of different kinds. And also [I had] this idea to create a space with no inside or outside, and [featuring] one of the eternal symbols – the white cupola. The paradox of that is abstraction but with Islamic references.”
The architect added that the facade of the building will allow allow “a rain of light” to enter, with spots of light appearing and disappearing “at different rhythms depending on the geometry” of the structure’s skin.
Summarising his philosophy, the architect said: “I fundamentally believe that a building is a reflection of an era. I really think one of the noble aspects of architecture is to testify for a generation; to reflect a culture in a said instant.”
The film, which was produced by Altimeter Films, can be viewed below:
