Carré d'art, Art gallery and library near Maison Carrée, Nîmes, France.
Description
Carré d'Art is an art museum and media library standing beside the Maison Carrée in Nîmes, structured with nine floors including four underground levels. Multiple gallery spaces showcase rotating exhibitions of contemporary work from national and international artists, while research collections and media resources fill the building.
History
This museum and library opened in 1993 following architect Norman Foster's design, created to house contemporary art collections and ancient library materials from a former Jesuit cloister. The building was conceived as a modern institutional response to Nîmes' need for both a contemporary art venue and research facility.
Culture
The building holds collections reflecting Nîmes' local history, bullfighting traditions, and Protestant heritage alongside rotating contemporary art shows. These materials reveal how the region's past and present shape its cultural identity today.
Practical
The building has a straightforward layout with elevators and stairs connecting the above-ground and underground levels, making access fairly easy for different mobility needs. Plan several hours to explore both the gallery spaces and the media library at your own pace.
Did you know?
The building's glass facade stands directly across from the Roman temple Maison Carrée, creating a visual dialogue between ancient stone and modern transparency. This intentional architectural response makes the spatial relationship between the two structures one of the site's defining features.
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Norman Foster has shaped contemporary architecture through technical innovation and design clarity. His buildings feature extensive glass facades, exposed steel structures and energy systems. The Reichstag dome in Berlin with its spiral ramp and the circular Apple Park in Cupertino demonstrate his...
Nîmes brings together two thousand years of architecture in one view. As you walk, you pass from the Roman amphitheater of the first century to the glass façade of the Carré d'Art, built in the 1990s. The Maison Carrée, an ancient temple with Corinthian columns, faces this contemporary art museum in...
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