With the construction of the Bourse de commerce, Tadao Ando’s work now goes beyond the country of Japan and has made its way to Paris, France. Although the structure was built in the mid-1700s, French architect Francois Pinault called for the reconstruction and redesign of the building. Ando was responsible for constructing a concrete wall within the rotunda that would allow artwork to be presented for guests to see. He was essentially tasked to place an art museum within an already established building. Along with the concrete wall, Ando also built seven galleries, a large auditorium, and a restaurant on the top floor of the building. The project took three years to complete and reopened in May 2021.

Pinault wanted Ando to be the one responsible of the redesigning of the building because of Ando’s minimalist aesthetic. It was Ando’s mission to create a venue that would correlate with the Bourse de commerce and not take away the beauty from the rotunda. Since the walls of the rotunda contained art of the city’s history, it was important to Ando to ensure that his work did not interfere with the structure. As a result, none of the artwork within the rotunda was affected by Ando’s work and the project was a success in terms of showing off the magnificent artwork within the new structure.

Image retrieved from https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2021/05/tadao-ando-bourse-de-commerce-paris-architecture-news_dezeen_hero-1704×959.jpg