The Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain has officially opened its spectacular new museum space in Paris, marking a significant milestone in contemporary art exhibition design. The foundation, which had outgrown its previous Jean Nouvel-designed glass structure on Paris's Left Bank, found an ideal new home in a former shopping mall on the prestigious Place du Palais-Royal on the Right Bank, opening its doors to the public on October 25.

The new location is far from an ordinary shopping center, housed within a magnificent Haussmannian building that exemplifies 19th-century Parisian architecture. The structure features an elegant pale-yellow limestone facade, gracefully arched porticoes, abundant wrought iron detailing, and a classic zinc roof that perfectly complements the historic neighborhood. This grand edifice provides a striking contrast to the foundation's previous transparent glass home while maintaining the institution's commitment to architectural innovation.

To transform this historic building into a cutting-edge 21st-century temple of art and design, the foundation once again collaborated with Jean Nouvel, the Pritzker Prize-winning French architect renowned for his recent imaginative projects including the Louvre Abu Dhabi and the National Museum of Qatar. "Jean Nouvel is our architect since 40 years," explains Chris Dercon, managing director of the foundation. "He's part of the family of the Fondation Cartier. It's ideal to continue to work with an architect and to follow his or her development."

Nouvel's long-standing relationship with the foundation has fostered a unique creative environment that allows for bold experimentation. "That trust allows me to propose bold, unconventional ideas," Nouvel tells Robb Report. For the museum's previous building, completed in 1994, he explains, "I chose radical transparency." However, at Place du Palais-Royal, this approach required significant adaptation as "the heritage of the site called for a different architectural language."

The architect's innovative solution centers on the concept of flexible, adaptive architecture. "The idea of transparency remains essential, but the disruption has shifted inward, taking the form of a flexible architecture, open to the unexpected," Nouvel explains. "Rather than designing a fixed model, I wanted to create a living instrument, one that can adapt to continuously evolving projects." This philosophy has resulted in a revolutionary museum design that challenges traditional exhibition space concepts.

The centerpiece of Nouvel's design is a vast, hollowed-out hall featuring nearly 70,000 square feet of exhibition space—more than five times larger than the foundation's former location. The space is equipped with an ingenious system of five elevator-like platforms that can be configured in seemingly limitless arrangements, both vertically and horizontally. This mobile platform system represents a groundbreaking approach to museum design, offering unprecedented flexibility for exhibitions.

"The concept of mobility enables us to offer artists and curators the possibility to create their own Jean Nouvel building every six months," says Dercon, emphasizing the transformative potential of the design. "Think about it like Lego." This comparison highlights how the modular system allows for continuous reconfiguration, ensuring that each exhibition can have its own unique spatial arrangement tailored to the specific needs of the artworks and curatorial vision.

The museum's inaugural exhibition, titled "Exposition Générale," cleverly references historical shows of the same name that once filled French shopping centers with eclectic displays of fashion, textiles, kitchenware, and art. This comprehensive exhibition features 500 works by 100 artists, exploring themes of design, nature, craft, and artistic interchange. The show demonstrates the versatility of the new space while establishing the museum's curatorial direction.

Among the exhibition's highlights are several standout installations that showcase the diversity of contemporary art. Malick Sidibé's powerful postcolonial photographs of Mali provide historical context and cultural commentary, while a densely composed installation by Sarah Sze demonstrates contemporary sculptural innovation. The exhibition also features a Bernie Krause nature soundscape that creates an immersive auditory experience, and a vibrant "salon de eventos" (reception hall) created on-site by Freddy Mamani, a leading figure in Neo-Andean architecture.

Dercon describes Mamani's contribution as particularly striking: "It's very colorful. It's very Baroque. Think of a 21st-century version of a Baroque mestizo church in the Andes." This piece exemplifies the foundation's commitment to showcasing diverse cultural perspectives and contemporary interpretations of traditional forms.

The Fondation Cartier houses approximately 4,500 works in its permanent collection, accumulated over the 41 years since its establishment. According to Dercon, most of these works are by artists who "work in the margins and don't regularly appear at auction or mega galleries." This focus on emerging and underrepresented artists distinguishes the foundation from other major cultural institutions in Paris.

"Our interests are very different from the encyclopedic [mission] of the Louvre, very different from the Musée des Arts décoratifs," Dercon notes. "I always say that we are interested in in-betweenness—in between the disciplines. We have always invited artists and curators and theoreticians to think in between the genres and also to work with one another." This interdisciplinary approach reflects the foundation's commitment to fostering dialogue across artistic boundaries.

The museum's location places it at the heart of one of Paris's most culturally rich neighborhoods, creating opportunities for meaningful dialogue with surrounding institutions. "It's going to create an interesting dialogue with the Louvre, which is just in front of me, and it's going to also create a very interesting dialogue with other buildings, like Tadao Ando's Bourse de Commerce—home of the Pinault Collection—which is only four minutes away, and further down the road with the Tuileries, Hôtel de la Marine, Jeu de Paume," Dercon explains.

Despite the concentration of cultural institutions in the area, Dercon emphasizes the importance of maintaining the neighborhood's mixed-use character. "What we really want to avoid is this becoming a museum mile. Our building is part of a mixed-use compound because above us are still offices. It's good not to create a museum mile, not to have something which at night is going to feel like a mausoleum." This philosophy ensures that the museum remains integrated into the living fabric of the city rather than creating an isolated cultural district.