A memorandum of understanding has been signed between France and China to begin five years of cultural cooperation – one manifestation of which will be the construction of a branch of the Pompidou Centre in Shanghai.
China’s West Bund Group and France’s Centre Pompidou describe the project as "by far the highest-standard cultural exchange project of such long duration between China and France in the cultural field".
Located in the West Bund Art Museum, which is currently under construction, the 24,000 sq m art gallery is to be designed by UK firm David Chipperfield Architects and will house 20 exhibitions and events between 2019 and 2024.
The $137m Shanghai development will contain collections from France, while the Parisian gallery will house works of Chinese contemporary art.Â
Regular bilateral academic exchanges, such as training and exchange programmes, will occur between the two parties.
David Chipperfield Architects said: "The aim of the design is to create a special place at the riverside where visitors can visit a museum and also enjoy the riverside and the views to downtown Shanghai.
"Due to its situation as a solitaire at the northernmost point where the road and the river diverge to form a generous green park, the museum will be the prime cultural entity that visitors encounter when coming to the Xuhui Riverside District via the Shanghai Corniche. The building will have a strong relationship to its surroundings".
The West Bund Art Museum is expected to be completed in 2018 and the cultural exchange is due to run between 2019 and 2024.
Images courtesy of David Chipperfield Architects
