Carré d'Art
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| Established | 1993 |
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| Location | Place de la Maison Carrée, Nîmes, Gard, France |
| Coordinates | 43°50′17″N 4°21′19″E / 43.838071°N 4.355414°E |
| Type | Art museum, Mediathque |
| Website | carreartmusee |
The Carré d'art at Nîmes in southern France houses a museum of contemporary art and the city's municipal library. Constructed of glass, concrete and steel, it faces the Maison carrée, a perfectly preserved Roman temple that dates from the very beginning of the 1st century AD. In 1984, twelve architects, including Frank Gehry, Jean Nouvel and César Pelli, were invited to submit proposals for the museum. A design by the British architect Norman Foster was selected, and the building was opened in May 1993.[1]
The building was constructed as part of a project to refurbish the square in which the Maison carrée stands, and provides a new setting for the ancient temple.[2] The building is a nine-storey structure, half of which is sunk deep into the ground, keeping the building's profile low in sympathy with the scale of the surrounding buildings. The lower levels house archive storage and a cinema.
References
[edit]- ^ Nîmes city council website, accessed March 12, 2009.
- ^ Carré d'Art Archived 2009-02-07 at the Wayback Machine, Foster and Partners, accessed February 5, 2009.
External links
[edit]- Carré d'Art - musée d'art contemporain - official site
43°50′17″N 4°21′19″E / 43.838071°N 4.355146°E
| International | |
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| Geographic | |
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- Foster and Partners buildings
- Buildings and structures in Nîmes
- Arts centres in France
- Museums in Gard
- Art museums and galleries in France
- Buildings and structures completed in 1993
- Library buildings completed in 1993
- Art museums and galleries established in 1993
- Libraries established in 1993
- 1993 establishments in France
- Tourist attractions in Nîmes
- Organizations based in Occitania (administrative region)
- 20th-century architecture in France
- Libraries in Occitania