Bernard Arnault is planning to open a second museum in the Bois de Boulogne on the outskirts of Paris. Like its neighbor, the Fondation Louis Vuitton, the new LVMH museum will also be designed by Frank Gehry, according to Le Parisien. The 11-story building, which has been closed since 2005, formerly housed the Museum of Arts and Popular Traditions. French President François Hollande, culture minister Audrey Azoulay, and Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo attended a press conference this week where Arnault announced that he agreed to a 50-year lease for $158,000 annually. Because the building belongs to Paris, the city will receive a percentage of the turnover, between 2 and 10 percent, depending on profitability. The new museum will be named La Maison LVMH/Arts, Talents, Patrimoine.
The building had not been in use since its closure and has been in a state of disrepair. Arnault will renovate the building to include a traditional craft workshop, a 2,000-seat event hall, multiple gallery spaces, and a rooftop restaurant. The renovations are expected to take five years and are projected to cost $166 million.
