Arab World Institute, Jean Nouvel

Arab World Institute, Jean Nouvel

HUJDUR, Zedina

Built between 1981 and 1987, the Institut du Monde Arabe (IMA), or the Arab World Institute, is representing the museum for Arabian art. This building is an “evidence“ or a try of translation of ancient Arab culture into a more modern and sophisticated language. Symbols from Arabian culture combined with high-tech glass and steel, this building is a physical symbol of the friendship between France and the Arab world which makes it facing the contradiction of Arabian and European culture. Also, because of its special location, it becomes the connection of old and new Paris. The Arab World Institute is a structure of two faces. On the north side, facing the river, the building is sheathed in glass which is etched with a white ceramic image of the adjacent skyline. On the south side, the wall is covered with what seems to be “moucharabieh“ , the kind of latticed screens found on patios and balconies in Arab countries. The screens are actually grids of automated lenses used to control light creating the magnificent magic of this place. As a result, a mysterious atmosphere is created for human body to catch the divinity. Divinity seems to have a direct connection with the size of holes on the high‐tech panels of façade. With the helping of camera lens and computer technology, the connection is no longer rigid. Instead, it becomes a dynamic process which makes divinity and architecture having an opportunity to permeating each other. Another continuation of Arabic motif is also representing the spatial play of size and space in form. Jean Nouvel required to create a work that maximized space as well as form and it can be seen in the harmony with the design of the space that leads us to the conclusion: Structure is part of the design.

Conference or Workshop Item
PeerReviewed

2013

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