Lafayette Anticipations, a new artistic laboratory designed by Rem Koolhaas

Created in 2013 by Guillaume Houzé, Lafayette Anticipations (the Galeries Lafayette corporate foundation) finally has a physical location – and not the least. Officially open to the public from 10 March, the building, renovated by none other than Rem Koolhaas (via his OMA agency), already promises to become the capital’s new artistic laboratory. A few days before the inaugural weekend, a few dozen privileged people were able to enter the seven-storey building for the first time. The exhibition space, which is also meant to welcome artistic workshops, places innovation at the center of its purpose. In the presence of Rem Koolhaas, François Quintin (Managing Director of Lafayette Anticipations) and Guillaume Houzé, guests (including Juergen Teller, Xavier Veilhan, Jean-Pierre Blanc and Suzanne Tarasieve) were also able to discover the “exhibition tower”, a modular space made up of four mobile floors allowing it to morph into forty-nine different configurations. Lafayette Anticipations opens its doors after three years of work with an inaugural exhibition dedicated to Lutz Bacher, “The Silence of the Sea”. It is the first exhibition of the American artist in France.