{"id":537951,"date":"2026-07-07T19:13:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T19:13:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/537951\/"},"modified":"2026-07-07T19:13:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T19:13:10","slug":"new-art-center-by-rcr-arquitectes-to-open-on-paris-ile-seguin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/537951\/","title":{"rendered":"new art center by rcr arquitectes to open on paris’ \u00eele seguin"},"content":{"rendered":"

large art center to open on paris island this autumn<\/p>\n

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A decade in the making, new contemporary art center<\/a> Large is set to open this autumn on Paris<\/a>\u2018 \u00cele Seguin as a new destination for contemporary art housed inside a sculptural building by RCR Arquitectes<\/a>. Developed by Groupe Emerige in collaboration with CALQ Architecture, the 5,000-square-meter institution transforms the former industrial island\u2014once home to Renault\u2019s historic factories\u2014into a cultural hub where architecture, art, and landscape<\/a> converge.<\/p>\n

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The inaugural exhibition<\/a>, \u2018Imaginary Engine: From Masterpieces of the Collection Renault to Artists of Today\u2019, curated by Cecilia Alemani, runs from October 17, 2026, through March 7, 2027, bringing together works from the Renault collection with newly commissioned installations by contemporary artists.<\/p>\n

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Large contemporary art center on \u00cele Seguin | all images by Nicolas Trouillard<\/a> courtesy of RCR Arquitectes and CALQ<\/p>\n

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corten steel and anodized aluminum shape RCR building<\/p>\n

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Designed by the Pritzker Prize-winning Catalan practice RCR Arquitectes, Large is conceived as an architectural experience in itself. Clad in weathering Corten steel and anodized aluminum, the building unfolds through compressed passages, expansive galleries, and framed views across the Seine toward Meudon. Rather than separating architecture from exhibition design, the project uses changes in scale, filtered daylight, and materiality to choreograph visitors\u2019 movement, creating what the architects describe as a continuous sensory journey. The centerpiece is a sweeping elevated volume that anchors the Pointe des Arts development while acting as a landmark visible from both riverbanks.<\/p>\n

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Inside, approximately half of the building\u2019s 5,000 square meters are dedicated to exhibition galleries, including a 1,000-square-meter main hall illuminated by natural light filtered through aluminum mashrabiya screens. Public spaces\u2014including a caf\u00e9, bookshop, children\u2019s workshop, and panoramic rooftop terrace designed by Constance Guisset\u2014extend the institution beyond exhibition-making, positioning Large as an everyday civic destination as much as an art center.<\/p>\n

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designed by Catalan practice RCR Arquitectes, Large is conceived as an architectural experience in itself<\/p>\n

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inaugural exhibition explores human-machine relationship<\/p>\n

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For its opening exhibition, Large turns to the industrial legacy of \u00cele Seguin. \u2018Imaginary Engine\u2019 draws from the Renault art collection featuring works by Victor Vasarely, Jean Dubuffet, Jean Tinguely, and photographs by Robert Doisneau while pairing them with newly commissioned projects that examine the evolving relationship between technology, labor, and society. Organized into five thematic chapters\u2014The Factory of My Thoughts, Social Bodies, Motor Forces, Objects of Desire, and The Human Machine\u2014the exhibition spans twentieth-century industrial utopias and contemporary technological transformations.<\/p>\n

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Seventeen new commissions have been created specifically for the opening by artists including Th\u00e9o Mercier, Sara Sadik, Bianca Bondi, Cl\u00e9ment Cogitore, Bertrand Lavier, Mohamed El Khatib, Oliver Beer, Bertille Bak, Thu Van Tran, and Giulia Andreani. The exhibition continues Renault\u2019s long-standing relationship with contemporary art while establishing Large\u2019s commitment to supporting new artistic production alongside historical collections.<\/p>\n

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the building unfolds through compressed passages, expansive galleries, and framed views across the Seine toward Meudon<\/p>\n

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a new cultural destination for greater Paris<\/p>\n

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Large forms part of La Pointe des Arts, a 53,000-square-meter mixed-use development that also includes an eight-screen cinema, hotel, restaurants, offices, and public spaces extending along the Seine. Accessible primarily by foot, bicycle, tram, and metro, the project reconnects \u00cele Seguin with the surrounding city after more than a century of industrial occupation.<\/p>\n

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The institution plans to present two exhibition seasons each year while focusing on artists living and working in France, combining historical exhibitions with newly commissioned works. Forty percent of the building remains freely accessible without an exhibition ticket, reinforcing its ambition to function as both a cultural institution and an open public space.<\/p>\n

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the structure is clad in weathering Corten steel and anodized aluminum<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"large art center to open on paris island this autumn \u00a0 A decade in the making, new contemporary…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":537952,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[17921,307,304,305,306,308,93,4197,61,60,19989,228568],"class_list":["post-537951","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-architecture-in-france","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-artsdesign","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-exhibitions","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-museums-and-galleries","tag-rcr-arquitectes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/537951","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=537951"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/537951\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/537952"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=537951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=537951"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=537951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}