R4, Île Seguin

North elevation of R4, R4 application for planning permission dossier, © Ateliers Jean Nouvel
North elevation of R4, R4 application for planning permission dossier, © Ateliers Jean Nouvel

In Boulogne-Billancourt, a western suburb of Paris, an island in the Seine is being developed into an “artistic micro-city” designed by Jean Nouvel. The project for Île Seguin will create artists’ studios, commercial gallery and auction spaces, an exhibition hall, and a conference center to transform the island into a modern cultural hub.

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Guggenheim Helsinki? Not so fast…

Guggenheim Helsinki design competition, view of Helsinki's waterfront; image via ArchDaily
Guggenheim Helsinki design competition, view of Helsinki’s waterfront; image via ArchDaily

Last month, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and Helsinki city officials announced an international design competition for a proposed new museum in the Finnish capital. The Guggenheim proposal has been met with disapproval in Helsinki since 2011, and there is no certainty that the design competition will gain public support for the project.

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Richard Serra and Qatar

Richard Serra, East-West/West-East, Image via Qatar Museum Authority
Richard Serra, East-West/West-East, image via Qatar Museums Authority

This spring, coinciding with his first major exhibition in the Middle East, American sculptor Richard Serra launched a public art commission in Qatar entitled East-West/West-East. Serra’s large-scale assemblies of sheet metal are famously minimal and massive, and this site-specific work in Qatar is absolutely monolithic.

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