Fondation Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé, Paris – Architect: Renzo Piano

Founded in 2006, the Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé Foundation is an institution committed “to transmit the history of cinema, on one side, through the history, conservation, restoration and public dissemination of the historical heritage of Pathé and, on the other side, through the programming of films, exhibitions, and cultural events”. The Foundation is housed in an iconic building, designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano, located in Paris, in Avenue des Gobelins.

The Foundation’s collection comprises 700 films and other materials produced or distributed by the famous French film company Pathé, founded in 1896, along with advertising posters, cinema equipment, books, magazines, photographs, drawings, costumes, and other items.

The program of the Foundation includes special exhibitions, film screenings, conferences, guided tours, and special events.

The historical facade of the Seydoux-Pathé Foundation on Avenue des Gobelin, designed by Auguste Rodin in the second half of the 19th century; photo © Federica Lusiardi/Inexhibit

Renzo Piano’s building
The building of the Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé Foundation is located on the site of a former theater and cinema, whose facade was designed by Auguste Rodin in 1869, which has been completely transformed by Renzo Piano. Completed in 2014, the new 2,200-square meter/23,680-square-foot building designed by Piano surprises visitors with its unconventional curvilinear volume, invisible from the street, which houses a multifunctional lobby, two temporary exhibition spaces, a 70-seat cinema, and the Foundation’s offices on the upper floor, which is topped by a transparent roof to provide natural lighting to the spaces beneath. Separated from the main building by an inner garden populated with birch trees, there is a second, smaller building containing a cafe, and a small library with a reading room.

Despite the strict lot available, with the Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé Foundation, Piano created a superb piece of architecture. While the main volume, with its cocoon-like shape emphasized by its perforated metal cladding, is undoubtedly the centerpiece of the complex; are the small garden and the simple building on the back that, far from being complements, give the place a unique, fascinating, and calm atmosphere. Seated at a table on the tiny outdoor terrace of the Foundation’s cafe one can hardly imagine being just a few steps from a crowded street in the heart of one of Europe’s largest and busiest capitals.

The main entrance of the Foundation with the metal-clad “cocoon” designed by Piano in the background; photo © Riccardo Bianchini/Inexhibit

A garden with a little grove of birch trees is situated between the “cocoon” building and the cafe pavilion; photo © Riccardo Bianchini/Inexhibit

A view of the Foundation’s lobby; at the time of my visit, it featured an exhibition on Italian director Federico Fellini; named “Rina”, the golden rhinoceros maquette was featured in Fellini’s 1983 movie “And the Ship Goes On”; photo © Riccardo Bianchini/Inexhibit

One of the temporary exhibition galleries is located in the main building’s basement; photo © Riccardo Bianchini/Inexhibit

The exhibition space on the first floor was empty when I visited Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé Foundation; photo © Riccardo Bianchini/Inexhibit

A view of the rear pavilion, also designed by Renzo Piano, from the inner garden; photo © Riccardo Bianchini/Inexhibit

A view of the small library, mostly made of plywood, housed in the rear pavilion; foto © Riccardo Bianchini/Inexhibit

The inner garden and the main building from inside the cafe; photo © Riccardo Bianchini/Inexhibit

The “cocoon” from the Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé Foundation’s entrance atrium; photo © Riccardo Bianchini/Inexhibit