The LUMA Foundation has announced the upcoming opening of its new creative hub LUMA Arles is set for June 26. Located in Arles’s Parc des Ateliers, the 27-acre campus for the arts and philanthropy organization is centered around a magnificent tower designed by the renowned architect Frank Gehry.
Luma Tower imagined by Frank Gehry, January 2021, Luma Arles, Parc des Ateliers, Arles (France); © Adrian Deweerdt, courtesy of LUMA Foundation.
Inspired by Vincent Van Gogh’s Starry Night and the region’s picturesque geography, Gehry’s 49,000 square-feet glimmering geometric structure is executed with 11,000 stainless steel panels that capture the natural light and modular windows twisting from the building’s surface. With exteriors reminiscent of the movement captured in Van Gogh’s iconic painting, the interiors include project spaces, exhibition galleries, seminar rooms, and the foundation’s research and archive facilities.
Aerial view of the site, June 2019, Luma Arles, Parc des Ateliers, Arles (France); © Dronimages, courtesy of LUMA Foundation.
“There is one driving-metaphor for LUMA at the Parc des Ateliers: that of a living organism,” said the founder of LUMA Foundation, Maja Hoffmann. “As such the balance between form and function determines its viability. It is about composing a polyphonic score where everything is ordered, yet where everything is possible.”
At the direction of Hoffmann, the Arles project has been underway since 2008. In addition to Gehry’s main structure, the expansive campus also features a suite of former railway factories, repurposed by Selldorf Architects to serve as performance and exhibition spaces, as well as a public park and gardens that are the work of the landscape architect Bas Smets.
Luma Tower imagined by Frank Gehry, January 2021, Luma Arles, Parc des Ateliers, Arles (France); © Adrian Deweerdt, courtesy of LUMA Foundation.
