jean nouvel

Monument man

Wallpaper's October 2014 edition came to fruition far quicker than another Nouvel-gehry double act, the Saadiyat Island complex in Abu Dhabi, where Gehry’s Guggenheim is running a distant second to Nouvel’s new Louvre, itself a ten year project but finally nearing completion. Over the course of a 50-year career the Frenchman has channelled the spirit of Gallic modernism into new forms, courting controversy whenever his single-minded vision is compromised.

Nouvel used his Guest Editor pages to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Fondation Cartier, his landmark Parisian building, as crisp and refined as the day it opened. The gallery has proved to be a potent force in contemporary art, as well as an inspired exhibition space, hosting groundbreaking shows by the likes of Marc Newson, Matthew Barney, Sarah Sze and more. The architect also shared his thoughts on hotel culture – an Atelier Jean Nouvel speciality – and works then under construction, including the Louvre Abu Dhabi and the National Museum of Qatar (opening in Doha December 2018).

Since 2014, Nouvel has more than demonstrated the necessary stamina for such major cultural projects, including the controversial Philharmonie de Paris and ongoing works at the National Art Museum of China, among others. His studio has also garnered a fair amount of commercial work, with the 53W53 Tower promising a prominent addition to the New York skyline.

Nouvel, photographed by Pierpaolo Ferrari at home in Paris, put his Fondation Cartier, designed in 1994, on the cover. The image, showing a maintenance check, was taken back in 1995, but as Nouvel points out, the building looks exactly the same today –...