One of the greatest contemporary art centres will be built on the Seguin island in the town of Boulogne, where the famous Renault cars were built until 1989, it was announced on September 4th 2000. The Seguin island on the river Seine will house a foundation financed by French businessman and owner of Christie's François Pinault who struck a deal with Louis Schweitzer, head of Renault, and Jean-Pierre Fourcade, the mayor of Boulogne.
Several architectural projects had been examined regarding the future of the 110,000 square metre island dubbed as the “Titanic” of the river Seine since the Renault factory has been closed.
François Pinault said his entire collection of sculptures, paintings, photographs and video installations produced by some of the greatest artists of the second half of the 20th Century would be said in the foundation due to bear his name.
The François Pinault Foundation, set to rival the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, will be built over a 30,000 square metre surface and will be at the chore of an architectural concept of apartment and office buildings surrounded by a park.
Entirely financed by François Pinault, it will also serve as a cultural meeting place for contemporary artists.
So far the town of Boulogne, which was the dwelling place of the famous art dealer Kahnweiler, the painter Juan Gris, the sculptor Paul Landowski and several architects of the 1930s, has been housing a modest museum dedicated to Art deco.
A Renault museum and a university centre will also be built alongside the foundation on the Seguin island.
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