Louis Vuitton Foundation
France
Originally estimated to cost €100 million, it was revealed in 2017 that the actual cost of the museum was almost eight times that amount. A 2018 report from the Court of Audit showed that the construction of the building was the main activity of the Foundation between 2007 and 2014. In November 2018, a French anti-corruption group called FRICC filed a complaint against the Louis Vuitton Foundation, alleging fraud and tax evasion in the construction of the museum. FRICC claimed that the nonprofit branch of LVMH was able to deduct around 60% of the museum's construction cost from its taxes and request tax refunds on other costs, resulting in LVMH and the Foundation receiving almost €603 million from the government towards the construction cost of €790 million. However, the case was dismissed in September 2019.
History
Bernard Arnault, the CEO of LVMH, shared plans with architect Frank Gehry in 2001 for a new building to house the Louis Vuitton Foundation for Creation on the edge of the Bois de Boulogne. The estimated cost of the project was €100 million ($127 million), with a projected opening date of late 2009 or early 2010. Suzanne Pagé, then director of the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, was appointed as the foundation's artistic director to oversee the museum's program.
In 2007, the city of Paris, which owns the park, granted a building permit. However, in 2011, an association for the safeguard of the Bois de Boulogne won a court battle, as the judge ruled that the centre had been constructed too close to a tiny asphalt road that was considered a public right of way. Opponents to the site also claimed that a new building would disrupt the serene environment of the historic park. The city appealed the court's decision, and French architect Jean Nouvel supported Gehry, criticizing the objectors for wanting to preserve Paris in a static form. A special law was eventually passed by the Assemblée Nationale that deemed the Foundation as being in the national interest and "a major work of art for the whole world," which enabled it to proceed.
The Louis Vuitton Foundation for Creation opened to the public in October, with a reported cost of $143 million. However, in May 2017, Marianne, a French news magazine, revealed that the final cost of the building had been €780 million (close to $900 million). Before its official opening, the building hosted Louis Vuitton's women's spring/summer 2015 fashion show.
Design
Frank Gehry visited the garden at the invitation of Arnault, and was inspired by the glass Grand Palais as well as other glass structures like the Palmarium from the Jardin d'Acclimatation built in 1893. The building site was designed based on 19th century landscaped garden principles and connects to the Jardin d'Acclimatation to the north and the Bois de Boulogne to the south.
The two-story structure has 11 galleries of different sizes, totaling 41,441 square feet, and a spacious 350-seat auditorium on the lower-ground floor. Additionally, there are multilevel roof terraces for hosting events and art installations. Gehry had to adhere to the square footage and two-story volume of a previously existing bowling alley on the site and was required to use glass for anything above this height. As a result, the building takes on the shape of a sailboat's sails being inflated by the wind, with glass sails enclosing a series of white, flowery terraces that form the "iceberg".
The upper floor galleries are illuminated by recessed or partially hidden skylights, and a large stainless-steel LV logo designed by Gehry is prominently displayed above the ticket booth, facing Avenue Mahatma Gandhi.
Over 400 people contributed to the project's design plans, engineering rules, and construction constraints through a shared 3D digital model hosted online. Industrial robots used this model to simulate and mold the 3,600 glass panels and 19,000 concrete panels that make up the building's facade. Local architects from STUDIOS architecture oversaw the construction process in Paris, transitioning from Gehry's schematic design to the finished building space. Nagata Acoustics and AVEL Acoustics were the consultants for the auditorium's acoustics, and Ducks Scéno served as the scenographer.
Construction
Construction for the Louis Vuitton Foundation project began in March 2008. The realization of this 126,000-square-foot project required innovative technological developments, including the use of 3D design software called Digital Project, specially adapted for the aviation industry, during the design phase. All project management teams worked simultaneously on the same digital model, allowing professionals to exchange information in real time.
However, an organization called Coordination for the Safeguarding of the Bois de Boulogne, which protects the park, opposed this building project. They appealed to the Administrative Justice and successfully challenged both the land authorization and the building permit, which was cancelled on January 20, 2011. To save the museum project, the city of Paris changed its planning regulations concerning land usage. In April 2011, both the city and the Louis Vuitton Foundation received approval to continue the work. The association then appealed to the Constitutional Council by filing a priority issue of constitutionality (QPC) against the permit, but the challenge was rejected on February 24, 2012.
In 2012, construction reached a milestone with the installation of the glass sails. The 3,584 laminated glass panels used were each unique and specifically curved to fit the architect's drawings. The gallery sections are covered in a white fiber-reinforced concrete called Ductal. The teams involved in the construction of the building received several architectural awards in France and the U.S.
Collections
The art collection of the museum is a combination of pieces owned by LVMH and Bernard Arnault, featuring works by renowned artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Gilbert & George, and Jeff Koons. The foundation also commissioned site-specific installations curated by Francesca Pietropaolo, including works by Ellsworth Kelly, Olafur Eliasson, Janet Cardiff, George Bures Miller, Sarah Morris, Taryn Simon, Cerith Wyn Evans, and Adrián Villar Rojas.
Some notable works include Morris's film "Strange Magic" (2014), Simon's installation "A Polite Fiction" (2014), and Kelly's Spectrum VIII (2014), a colorful curtain made of twelve strips for the auditorium. Eliasson's "Inside the Horizon" (2014) consists of 43 prism-shaped yellow columns that light up from the inside and line a walkway. Villar Rojas's "Where the Slaves Live" (2014) is a water tank containing found objects, discarded sneakers, and plants, installed under one of the twelve glass "sails" that define the foundation's signature, swerving shape.
Auditorium and Management
The Auditorium serves as a small concert hall and hosted its inaugural recital on 24 October 2014 by Lang Lang. Other renowned artists such as Tedi Papavrami, Yuja Wang, Vladimir Spivakov, Steve Reich, Chick Corea, and Matthias Pintscher have also graced its stage.
The museum, funded by LVMH and named after its flagship brand, Louis Vuitton, will be handed over to the city's government after a period of 55 years.