Institut du Monde Arabe

Paris, France

2012

The Institut du Monde Arabe was completely renovated over three years and reopened its permanent collection to the public in 2012. It is housed in the iconic building designed by Jean Nouvel in 1981. Reimagined by head curator Marie Foissy along with a team of archeologists, historians, linguists and anthropologists, the museum testifies to the extraordinary wealth of art and traditions that make up the mosaic of the 22 member states of the Arab League, which founded the IMA along with the country of France.

Exhibition design: Roberto Ostinelli, Chiasso

The challenge

The 560 pieces in the IMA’s collection are resplendent inside display cases developed and constructed by Goppion. Display cases that seem like transparent prisms, which are of exceptional formal lightness despite their size – in some cases longer than 11 meters and higher than 4 meters. They perfectly conceal the microclimate control mechanism and mechanical functions.

The solution

These display cases were engineered to allow for ease of use by museum staff and to have optimal qualities for preserving objects and displaying them. The display cases created for IMA integrate LED lighting systems that feature cones of light that can be shaped. What’s more, there are revolutionary supports fixed directly to the glass, which allow for objects to be suspended inside the showcase. To create the display cases, 1,100 square meters of crystal was used.