Opposite the famous Nîmes arena dating back to the end of the 1st century, the new Museum of Roman Culture designed by Elizabeth de Portzamparc has been inaugurated on 2nd June 2018, by French Culture minister Françoise Nyssen.

“Faced with the arena’s elliptical shape, I have responded with a square, I have selected glass to counter the stone and soft horizontal lines against the vertical lines. Instead of being firmly rooted in the ground, I have sought levitation…”, explained the architect last March when asked about the contrast between this remarkably preserved heritage site and her decontextualized design.

Read this article of Laurie Picout in the issue n°424 of L’Architecture d’Aujourd’hui, still available in our online shop.