Located in central Paris, the historic Bourse de Commerce building reopened its doors in the spring of 2021 after being transformed by Japanese architect Tadao Ando. We were lucky enough to visit it last year and it was fascinating.
The refurbishment of this 18th century stock exchange building was commissioned by François Pinault to display his vast art collection... and it is a unique one. Ando's work has transformed the building dramatically by creating unexpected perspectives and viewpoints throughout the building.
Advantage points like those one gains under the watchful eyes in the dome's mural, but also places to stop and admire the building's original features.
I would like to mention many things & will start by saying that I really liked the contribution that designers Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec made to the project too. Their furniture is beautiful but their street furniture, especially the flags outside the building blew my mind.
I also appreciated the beautiful guide to the museum for children which from the offset presents the visit as an architectural tour. It was the first time I went to a museum and encountered a piece of graphic design that a child would want to read.... you can find a link to the pdf version on the website and i think many others could learn from it: /en/boursedecommerce/publics/children
I will let you in on a secret (though not a secret because this is a topic widely discussed these days)... During our visit and specially under the former stock exchange mural that celebrates the trade across all five continents, I could not help but feel I was looking at the display of , essentially, a different type of commodity which , no doubt, is traded across all five continents in a similar, if only quieter, manner that those that used to be traded here in the 19th century when the mural was painted.
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