Philharmonie de Paris at Parc de la Villette

4 October 2017 · Paris

The Philharmonie de Paris sits low against a wide autumn sky, its dark perforated-metal dome pulling the eye even from across the park. Jean Nouvel's design earns its reputation here — the building reads as pure geometry from this angle, the overhanging canopy suspended between the trees and the white angular volumes at its edge. A few figures rest on the grass in the foreground, indifferent to the architecture behind them, which is exactly the right relationship.