![]() The Fondation, meanwhile, was successfully challenged by local groups dedicated to protecting the Bois, on the grounds that it broke rules intended to preserve the character of the park, and the project was stopped by the relevant tribunal. His plans to renovate La Samaritaine department store, an art deco palace beside the Seine, have encountered fierce opposition. Photograph: Justin Lorget/CorbisĪrnault is a man of exceptional influence, with a clear desire to make his architectural mark on Paris, and a determination to get his way. ![]() ![]() The Fondation Louis Vuitton ‘wears like a big diamante brooch the intertwined letters LV’. There have been times when Gehry has let himself be abused in this way, but his buildings at their best are generous, thoughtful and responsive, with a high degree of attention to the ways in which they are built. Gehry is often burdened with the ugly title of “starchitect”, meaning a quasi-celebrity with a conspicuous stylistic signature which is applied regardless of function, context, sense or budget to grandiose vanity projects. In 2062 the building, but not the art, will pass to the city of Paris. A decade in the making and of undisclosed budget, it is built on public land with LVMH’s money. Together they have created a building for the Fondation Louis Vuitton, a huge white-sailed object, a detumescent Sydney Opera House, for exhibiting the foundation’s collections of contemporary art. One is Frank Gehry, the 85-year-old architect from Los Angeles, the other Bernard Arnault, chairman and CEO of the LVMH luxury goods conglomerate, whose personal net worth is estimated at $29.6bn (£18.4bn). On the site of a former bowling alley in the Bois de Boulogne, next to the goat mountain, pagoda and enchanted boat rides of a charming children’s park, two powerful personalities meet.
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