PINAULT COLLECTION

THE NEW WORLD BOURSE DE COMMERCE

Anew temple dedicated to contemporary art, the Bourse de Commerce – Pinault Collection now houses part of the remarkable collection belonging to former businessman and patron of the arts François Pinault, in the heart of Paris. From the restoration of the old granary exchange to Tadao Ando’s perfect circle, we look back at the metamorphosis of this historic building into an extraordinary museum.oubt the most powerful Bentley ever built.

By Delphine Gallay

Photo © Patrick Tourneboeuf François Pinault’s dream becomes reality

“At first it was just a dream, a dream that seemed beyond reach. Then the dream became an ambition. And that ambition has now become reality.” If the luxury goods magnate had long cherished the hope of one day being able to present his vast collection of contemporary artwork to a Parisian audience, it took the French billionaire and collector twenty years to see his dream realized.

Long dormant in the heart of Paris, the Bourse de Commerce, located a stone’s throw from the Louvre and the Centre Pompidou, is now home to one of the world’s largest private contemporary art collections: an awesome ensemble of some ten thousand works acquired over the past fifty years by the former leader of the Kering Group, which can be discovered through a rich programme of temporary exhibitions. A stunning addition to the museum landscape, and in this Parisian district (the 1st arrondissement) undergoing significant change, the Bourse de Commerce – Pinault Collection is an extraordinary showcase for the artists of our time, and nourishes an unprecedented dialogue between an incredible historic monument and pure geometric form.

When construction on the project began, there was a certain air of scepticism regarding the modernization of this monument of French heritage and the elevation, in situ, of a huge concrete cylinder measuring twenty-nine metres in diameter and nine metres in height. This was without counting on the genius of architect Tadao Ando who would skilfully transform the Bourse de Commerce, giving it a new lease of life.

Four centuries of transformation

Witness to four centuries of history and architectural prowess, this was not the first metamorphosis of the Bourse de Commerce. Indeed, it bears within it the traces of successive eras and functions. Originally built in 1763 on the site of the former private mansion of Catherine de’ Medici to house a granary exchange in the centre of the capital, the Provost of Paris entrusted the design of this public-utility building to utopian architect Nicolas Le Camus de Mézière. Of the vestiges of the private mansion, only the Medici Column was preserved to adorn the new construction—a mysterious 31-metre-high fluted tower ordered by Catherine de’ Medici in order to allow her astrologer to contemplate the stars.

While its location on the banks of the Seine is strategic, its unusual surface area with five irregular sides soon posed a challenge for the architect in charge of the project. As a result, the new granary exchange would have a circular shape, like the Pantheon and the Colosseum! To meet the demanding specifications, Nicolas Le Camus de Mézière imagined two halls in one thanks to a building making use of arcades, deployed around a vast circular central courtyard, with large openings to convey the grain, and vaulted attics for storage. Two spiral staircases were installed to prevent merchants and porters from crossing paths. The resulting structure was a radical architectural manifesto!

The central courtyard remained open for some time but was eventually covered with a wooden framed dome in 1782, sadly destroyed in a fire in 1802. It wasn’t until 1811 that architect François-Joseph Bélanger replaced it with a spectacular metal canopy—the first ever cast iron frame made for such an extensive space.

From granary to stock exchange

With the advent of the railway in France in the early 19th century, the granary exchange saw its activity severely impacted. Following its closure in 1873, it remained unoccupied for a time before becoming the Paris Bourse de Commerce (stock exchange) in 1886. Under the auspices of architect Henri Blondel, the building then underwent a complete overhaul with a view to the upcoming World Fair in Paris in 1889. On the eve of the centenary of the French Revolution, the Third Republic wished to rebuild its reputation in the eyes of the world. While a certain Gustave Eiffel was preparing to build what would later become known as the “iron lady”, Henri Blondel was actively working to remove all traces of the past so as to shape the Bourse de Commerce into a symbol of globalization and colonial supremacy.

Entirely reconstructed, the building was largely demolished with the exception of the Medici Column, one of the two staircases, the interior facade of the rotunda, and the metal frame of its glass roof. The centrepiece of the building, the latter was carefully enhanced and covered in slates and zinc, and a 360-degree painted mural fresco was installed beneath it, a romanticized apologia of global trade. Now equipped with a mezzanine, an additional floor, and balconies, the new building was enriched with all the canons of Haussmannian architecture. The exterior facade, adorned with trumeaux, boasted a new entrance on the rue du Louvre flanked by Corinthian columns and a pediment sculpted by Aristide Croisy, while the vestibule was filled with mouldings, decorated ceilings, and wooden fixtures leading to two staircases with a central void.

Renaissance of the Bourse de Commerce

Classified as a historic monument in the mid-1980s, the Bourse de Commerce then underwent a significant restoration campaign and was occupied until 2016 by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry. When the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, invited François Pinault to install his collection at the Bourse de Commerce, he seized the opportunity. Seduced by the originality of the building and its enviable location, it was here, within this historic enclosure where wheat, sugar, and cocoa were once sold, that the former industrialist who became a major patron of the arts sought to make his collection public.

In an eternal renewal, this “chameleon-like building” was treated to yet another transformation, giving rise to a meticulous renovation and a remodelling commensurate with its history and new functions. The only specification given by François Pinault in terms of this renovation was to create a link between the Bourse de Commerce and today without altering its historical features. Who else but Zen master Tadao Ando could offer the original building such a radical yet subtle change?

Ronan et Erwan Bouroullec Restaurant La Halle aux grains, vases Alcova, 2020 - © Studio Bouroullec - Courtesy Bourse de Commerce - Pinault Collectio

The magic of Tadao Ando

It is said that the first time Tadao Ando stood under the dome, he had tears in his eyes. The halo of light passing through the glass vault might have reminded him of the Pantheon in Rome. Author of the two museums of the Pinault Collection in Venice, the Palazzo Grassi and Punta della Dogana, this virtuoso concrete master was eager to create a new world inside this sphere and to breathe a new dimension into it with a scenography that was at once original and modular, thereby capable of accommodating the various events and temporary exhibitions of the Pinault Collection. By placing a circle within a circle, Ando managed to tame the curved lines of the rotunda in order to better exalt them.

Through this gesture, the architect skilfully fostered a dialogue between the past, present, and future, offering an opening into urban culture and to future generations with all the minimal aesthetic sensitivity for which he is renowned. A symbol of plenitude and of the void amongst Buddhists, this 625m2 Zen circle generates a certain emotion within the space. Like a catalyst, its movement dramatizes the spirit of the neoclassical building, capturing the beams of overhead light that illuminate the recently restored 1,400m2 mural fresco under the dome, and offering a remarkable and magnetic perspective of its fine metal frame, culminating at almost forty metres.

Like an arena connecting the Parisian sky and the earth, one by one, the concrete circle redistributes the different spaces and connects the ten galleries thanks to a unique set of bridges. Outside the cylinder, the “passage” lined with twenty-four Empire-style display cases dating from the era of the Paris World Fair invites the visitor to stroll, while the passageway located on the second level allows close-up views of the sumptuous painted panorama.

This record-breaking construction project, involving three years of work, three thousand craftsmen and workers, and a budget of 160,000 million euros entirely financed by François Pinault, transformed the curves of this historic 7,000m2-building into an exemplary museum. In collaboration with the NeM and Setec Bâtiment agencies, in charge of project management, and Chief Architect of Historic Monuments PierreAntoine Gatier, Pinault also invited the Bouroullec brothers to design all of the interior and urban furniture, and to contribute to the design of the new restaurant run by chefs Michel and Sébastien Bras, named in reference to the origins of the building: the Halle aux grains (grain store).

Bourse de Commerce - Pinault Collection © Tadao Ando Architect & Associates, Niney et Marca Architectes, Agence Pierre-Antoine Gatier - Photo © Maxime Verret

Nothing but contemporary art!

From the exceptional character of the venue to the impressive private collection of one of the wealthiest names in France, the Bourse de Commerce – Pinault collection has become one of the strongholds of contemporary art since its inauguration in 2021. Unsurprisingly so: the collection comprises over 10,000 works, almost 400 famous and emerging artists, temporary exhibitions, and a rich cultural programme exploring all territories of creation (painting, sculpture, video art, photography, sound, installation, and performance). Through the prism of the Pinault Collection, everything is a matter of dialogue and diversity.

From the 1960s to the present day, the programme aims to be as dense as possible, and features names like Martial Raysse, Urs Fischer, Martha Rosler, Peter Doig, Tatiana Trouvé, Kerry James Marshall, Cindy Sherman, Richard Prince, Xinyi Cheng, Anri Sala, Charles Ray, etc. If the list is long, the discoveries promised to the public are plentiful and highly memorable. One thing is certain: François Pinault has a taste for risk and his contribution as a patron of the arts is truly outstanding given his lasting commitment to young artists.

If nothing and no one escapes the flair of François Pinault, his exhibitions go beyond the perimeter of his iconic works to brazenly blur the boundaries between artistic scenes and generations in daring and often surprising exhibitions. Just as this fantastic rehabilitation of the Bourse de Commerce and its grey concrete cylinder have awoken the soul of what was once a granary exchange.

BOURSE DE COMMERCE PINAULT COLLECTION 2 RUE DE VIARMES – 75001 PARIS WWW.PINAULTCOLLECTION.COM