Pritzker Architecture Prize-winning architect Frank Gehry has revealed a tower for the Luma Arles arts centre in southern France ahead of its public opening tomorrow.
Named The Tower, the stainless steel-clad cultural building is the centrepiece of the Luma Arles arts campus in the town of Arles.
According to Gehry, the design references Arles' Roman architecture, nearby mountains and Vincent van Gogh's Starry Night painting, which was painted nearby.
Frank Gehry designed The Tower for the Luma Arles arts centre
"We wanted to evoke the local, from Van Gogh's Starry Night to the soaring rock clusters you find in the region," said Gehry.
"Its central drum echoes the plan of the Roman amphitheatre."
The stainless steel-clad building is the centrepiece of the Luma Arles campus The 56-metre-high arts tower contains the exhibition galleries, archives, a library, offices, seminar rooms and a cafe for Luma Arles.
Clad with 11,000 irregularly arranged stainless steel panels, the distinctive tower was designed to be a landmark structure for the arts centre, which was established in 2013 by Swiss collector Maja Hoffmann.
The building was designed to be a local landmark
"The skyline of Arles is populated with towers built from the ancient times to the Middle Ages up to the present," said Gehry.
"The new building will help establish Luma Arles as a significant site among the other landmarks of the city."
The stainless steel cladding was info...