A cloud, a ship, an iceberg: there are a lot of different ways to describe the new Louis Vuitton Foundation building, a kind of Frank Gehry’s autobiography in glass, cement and wood in the famous garden Bois de Boulange in Paris.
A new creative hub for French and international artists where temporary exhibitions, galleries and permanent collections can be hosted, as well as a wide range of events and shows, thanks to the main auditorium, equipped with 340 customised seats supplied by Poltrona Frau Contract.

Undoubtly the spacious auditorium is one of the most important part of the building. It represents the Foundation’s mission to promote and encourage the creativity of contemporary artists both in France and across the globe.
A space that, as well as a the whole building, was inspired by Gehry’s concept of “double-building”. The exterior, recalling the 19th-century glass and garden architecture, a series of layers which ‘wraps’ the whole structure , is made of prodigious glass forms of different shapes and sizes. The interior , on the contrary, consists of a series of linear, static white blocks intended for the display of artworks.
The auditorium was realized also thanks to a renewed collaboration between the architect Frank Gehry and Poltrona Frau Contract, 17 years later their cooperation for the realization of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao.
Built with steel foil sides, the wooden back in view and plywood arms, Poltrona Frau’s chairs are a combination of its long artisanal tradition and its ongoing research into technology and materials, as the low-noise nylon.
Designed by Gehry himself, the chairs perfectly fits with the futuristic style of the Louis Vuitton Foundation building.
Text by Gabriele Masi.
Pictures by Iwan Baan.