Page 49 - Ocean Blue World 28th Edition
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ARCHITECTURE
Now, a tribute to Van Gogh and a center for artists looking for similar inspiration has been constructed in dramatic fashion.
The 180-foot Luma Arles Tower, designed by Canadian architect Frank Gehry, looms large on the city’s horizon, and features a unique, metallic facade meant to replicate Van Gogh’s Starry Night painting and the nearby Les Alpilles cliffs, constructed of 11,000 stainless steel panels that twist and gyre in the skyscape.
The tower forms part of a new, 27-acre art and cultural complex, the Parc des Ateliers, and features a rotunda at its base inspired by the city’s Roman ruins.
It’s a project 13 years in the making, at a cost of somewhere in the neighborhood of $175 million.
The building was commissioned by art collector and pharmaceutical heiress Maja Hoffman, and will house some of her extensive collection, among other important new works. It’s a donation to the city, and entry will be free of charge, surely attracting a new wave of tourists to this picturesque town.
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