frank gehry’s aluminum-clad LUMA tower in arles, france nears completion

frank gehry and his team are soon to complete the undulating LUMA tower, which now soars over the picturesque city of arles in southern france. the ancient roman city is characterized by its architecture of heritage buildings dating back centuries along with its amphitheater — founded in the year 90 AD — which recalls the language of the roman colosseum. with its historic urban fabric and warm, mediterranean climate, arles is known for its connection with artist vincent van gogh, who had inhabited the city for a decade. now, another famed artist makes his mark on the area with a tower clad in a skin of twisting aluminum brickwork.

all images by vincent hecht

swiss collector maja hoffmann — founder and president of the LUMA foundation — leads the frank gehry-designed LUMA arles. the tower will showcase some of the art world’s biggest names. while the monumental project occupies a former rail depot, it connects two former rail structures which had been recently converted into exhibition facilities by new york city-based firm selldorf architects. the LUMA tower will host a variety of such programming as research facilities, workshops, seminar rooms, and artist studios. surrounding the project will be a public park to be designed by landscape architect bas smets. click here for designboom’s previous coverage of the project, and see more photography by vincent hecht on our dedicated tag page.