Inside the sails of the Fondation
Frank Gehry retained 19th century glass’s transparent lightness and the taste for walks punctuated by surprises. His architecture combines a traditional "art de vivre", visionary daring and the innovation offered by modern technology.
From the invention of glass curved to the nearest millimetre for the 3,600 panels that form the Fondation's twelve sails to the 19,000 panels of Ductal (fibre-reinforced concrete), each one unique, that give the iceberg its immaculate whiteness, and not forgetting a totally new design process, each stage of construction pushed back the boundaries of conventional architecture to create a unique building that makes a dream come true.
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The building
From an initial sketch drawn on a blank page in a notebook to the transparent cloud sitting at the edge of the Jardin d'Acclimatation in the Bois de Boulogne, Frank Gehry constantly sought to "design, in Paris, a magnificent vessel symbolising the cultural calling of France".
