Indian tools, far eastern costumes, African masks – Paris’s extravagant museum of non-European art and culture, situated on the Quai Branly on the south bank of the Seine near the Eiffel Tower, houses more than 300,000 cultural treasures from all over the world.

The flagship project, which cost over $311 million , was opened by President Jacques Chirac back in 2006, but its imposing architecture and multifaceted collection have lost none of their allure.

This spectacular building is the work of French architect Jean Nouvel, who also designed Paris’s Institut du Monde Arabe. The core of the structure, which fits organically into its surroundings, is the spacious exhibition hall, a two-storey steel structure resting on 27 stilts, its form following the gentle curve of the Seine.

The architectural highlights are the colourful suspended cubes and cuboids in the inner space, used to display selected exhibits. The Quai Branly has no shortage of these, since its collection is the result of a merger between two renowned Paris museums.

Remarkably, most of this huge area is a park, freely accessible to the public; with its hanging gardens and 180 trees, the Musée du Quai Branly is a verdant oasis in the French capital.

Text: Kim Leclaire

Informationen
Musée du Quai Branly
37, quai Branly, 75007 Paris
Tel. +33/1/56/617000
http://www.quaibranly.fr/