page_title: Arab World Institute
section_title: Architecture
hierarchical_section_title: Arab World Institute / Architecture
caption_attribution_description: Bibliothèque de l'Institut du monde arabe Bibliothèque de l'Institut du monde arabe, 1 Rue des Fossés Saint-Bernard, 75005 Paris, France.
context_page_description: The Arab World Institute is an organization founded in Paris in 1980 by eighteen Arab countries with France to research and disseminate information about the Arab world and its cultural and spiritual values. The Institute was established as a result of a perceived lack of representation for the Arab world in France, and seeks to provide a secular location for the promotion of Arab civilization, art, knowledge, and aesthetics. Housed within the institution are a museum, library, auditorium, restaurant, offices and meeting rooms.
context_section_description: The building was constructed from 1981 to 1987 and has floor space of 181,850 square feet (16,894 m²). The Architecture-Studio together with Jean Nouvel, won the 1981 design competition. This project is a result of funds from both the League of Arab States and the French government, with the cost of the building totaling around €230,000,000. The building acts as a buffer zone between the Jussieu Campus of Pierre and Marie Curie University (Paris VI), built in large rationalist urban blocks, and the Seine. The river façade follows the curve of the waterway, reducing the hardness of a rectangular grid and offering an inviting view from the Sully Bridge. At the same time the building appears to fold itself back in the direction of the Saint-Germain-des-Prés district.
  In contrast to the curved surface on the river side, the southwest façade is an uncompromisingly rectangular glass-clad curtain wall. It faces a large square public space that opens in the direction of the Île de la Cité and Notre Dame. Visible behind the glass wall, a metallic screen unfolds with moving geometric motifs. The motifs are actually 240 photo-sensitive motor-controlled apertures, or shutters, which act as a sophisticated brise soleil that automatically opens and closes to control the amount of light and heat entering the building from the sun. The mechanism creates interior spaces with filtered light — an effect often used in Islamic architecture with its climate-oriented strategies. The innovative use of technology and success of the building's design catapulted Nouvel to fame and is one of the cultural reference points of Paris.
  The building was the recipient of the 1989 Aga Khan Award for Architectural Excellence. Jury members included historian Oleg Grabar.
caption: Impression of the metallic brise soleil seen from the inside out
exif: {"Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon EOS 600D", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image DateTime": "2017:03:30 19:14:45", "Image Artist": "", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image Copyright": "", "Image ExifOffset": "348", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "8916", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "17312", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/40", "EXIF FNumber": "7/2", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Unidentified", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "320", "EXIF SensitivityType": "Recommended Exposure Index", "EXIF RecommendedExposureIndex": "320", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2017:03:30 19:14:45", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2017:03:30 19:14:45", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "43/8", "EXIF ApertureValue": "29/8", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "18", "EXIF SubSecTime": "88", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "88", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "88", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "5184", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "3456", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "8598", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "1036800/181", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "691200/119", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF CameraOwnerName": "", "EXIF BodySerialNumber": "263076158947", "EXIF LensSpecification": "[18, 55, 0/0, 0/0]", "EXIF LensModel": "EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM", "EXIF LensSerialNumber": "0000171ee3"}