The landscaped park
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The Tower
In the heart of the Parc des Ateliers stands The Tower, which was inaugurated in June 2021. This 15,000-square-meter building, imagined by Maja Hoffmann with Frank Gehry, is made up of various multi-purpose spaces, from exhibition halls to work and research rooms, and event venues.
Key facts and figures
- Height: 56 meters
- Floors: 12 (10 stories)
- Façade: 11,000 stainless steel bricks, 53 glass boxes
- Rotunda (the Drum):
Diameter: 54 meters
Height: 16 to 18 meters
Weight: 670 tons of glass - Surface area of the interior spaces:
15,000 square meters (of which 2,000 square meters is usable for exhibitions)
1,400 square meters dedicated to the archive program
We wanted to evoke the local, from Van Gogh's 'Starry Night' to the soaring rock clusters you find in the region. Its central drum echoes the plan of the Roman amphitheatre.
Frank Gehry about The Tower
The Tower
The building imagined by Maja Hoffmann with Frank Gehry has a twisted façade decorated with stainless steel bricks. This material, which is typical of the architect’s work, captures and renders all the color variations in the sky, and gives the building an ever-changing appearance. This aesthetic choice is a nod to the pictorial practice of Vincent van Gogh, who was constantly capturing the shades of the Provençal sky on his canvases during his time in Arles.
The architect also wanted to give the building a mineral touch through its shape and internal structure, which are imbued with the rocky landscapes of the Alpilles, especially the Val d’Enfer near Les Baux-de-Provence. He even used elements of the geological vocabulary to characterize certain parts of the building, such as the glazed “faults” that run along the façade and connect the towers together.
At the foot of the building, the Drum, a glass rotunda inspired by the Arles Amphitheater, offers a unique reception area for visitors to come and appreciate the richness and diversity of Frank Gehry’s architectural work. Like the Roman arena, the scale and geometry of the rotunda reflect the influence of Roman urbanism on the city.
Technical aspects
The Tower of 15,000m² and 56 meters high, is composed of three main materials: steel, concrete and glass.
Use
The Tower consists of various multi-purpose public and private spaces, from exhibition halls to work rooms and event venues.
The Tower consists of various multi-purpose public and private spaces, from exhibition halls to work rooms and event venues.
Frank Gehry’s building is a new proposal for what a cultural building in the 21st century could be.
The interior spaces allow for different – public or private – uses, from the base to the top floor of the building:
- a 1,000-square-meter exhibition hall called the Main Exhibition Hall offers a single space without any supporting pillars, which meets all international museum standards,
- a panoramic terrace on the 9th floor,
- two exhibition halls of 500 and 350 square meters,
- the Drum Café, a café-restaurant,
- an auditorium with 150 seats,
- artists’ studios,
- a library,
- archive spaces (consultation, conservation),
- event venues and seminar rooms,
- offices.
