Created specifically for the Fondation Cartier on the occasion of its 30th anniversary, design and architecture studio Diller Scofidio + Renfro will transform the Foundation’s iconic glass building in Paris into a piece of art called ‘Musings on a Glass Box’. The work is a complex and immersive environment occupying the entire ground floor of Jean Nouvel’s building, challenging the existing architecture and raising questions about transparency, perception and space. An integrated acoustic component will be provided by American composer David Lang in collaboration with sound designer Jody Elff whose music works together with the structure to raise questions with regard to transparency and perception.

“Musings on a Glass Box empties the ground floor galleries in order to put them on display’, explain Diller Scofidio + Eenfro. ‘Their visual and acoustic qualities are heightened through a few strategically placed interventions in the building’s plumbing, electrical, and façade systems. Using a cliché of time lapsed and the appearance of neglect, the project begins with a single, mischievous leak from the ceiling. A response ensues with the aid of a bucket, a chorus, sensors, robotics, remote communications, video, and real-time sound processing. The two ground floor galleries interconnect in a feedback loop. Small gestures in the large gallery are amplified in the smaller one, making the familiar seem uncanny and turning the banal into the grotesque.”

Musing on a Glass Box opens at the Fondation Cartier on October 25 and remains on display until February 22 of next year.

images © Diller Scofidio + Renfro