La Pointe des Arts brings a new mixed-use cultural district to the upstream edge of Île Seguin in Boulogne-Billancourt, where the Seine meets one of Grand Paris’ most ambitious urban transformations. Developed by Emerige, Ardian Real Estate and AUGthe project covers more than 53,000 square meters and brings together architecture, culture, hospitality, offices, shops, public spaces and landscape design on one of the most historically charged islands in the Paris region.
The project marks a new chapter for Île Seguin, a site long associated with the industrial memory of the Paris region. Its regeneration aims to reconnect the island with public life, opening it up to residents, workers and visitors through a program based on culture and everyday use. La Pointe des Arts extends the island’s existing cultural identity, already shaped by La Seine Musicale, the music and performing arts center designed by Shigeru Ban and Jean de Gastines, which opened in 2017.
At the center of the development is Large, Cultures contemporaines, a new hybrid art center dedicated to the French contemporary art scene. Directed by Paula Aisemberg, Large will open to the public in autumn 2026 as part of the architectural project conceived by RCR Architectswinners of the 2017 Pritzker Prize, in collaboration with CALQ Architecture. Its opening marks a significant change for Île Seguin, giving public access to a site shaped by a century of industrial activity.
Large will be released with Imaginary Engine: From Masterpieces of the Collection Renault to Artists of Today, presented from October 17, 2026 in collaboration with the Fonds Renault pour l’Art et la Culture. Curated by Cecilia Alemani, the exhibition directly examines the island’s history as the former home of the Renault factories. Through works that focus on people, machines and the car, the show connects the industrial memory of Île Seguin with contemporary artistic questions.
The exhibition brings together historical works from the Renault collection by artists such as Vasarely, Dubuffet, Tinguely and Doisneau alongside contemporary works. Large also commissioned 17 new works for the inaugural exhibition, featuring artists such as Théo Mercier, Sara Sadik, Bianca Bondi, Clément Cogitore, Bertrand Lavier, Mohamed El Khatib, Oliver Beer, Bertille Bak, Thu Van Tran and Giulia Andreani. Structured in five chapters, The Factory of My Thoughts, Social Bodies, Motor Forces, Objects of Desire and The Human Machine, the exhibition examines the industrial utopias of the 20th century and the technological and social transformations shaping the present.
Around this cultural anchor, the wider La Pointe des Arts program adds an 8-screen Pathé cinema with IMAX theater, 7,000 square meters of retail, 20,000 square meters of offices and a 230-room 4-star hotel with balconies overlooking the Seine. The hotel, designed by Baumschlager Eberle with interiors by Maison Sarah Lavoine, will also include a restaurant with panoramic views.
Architecture plays a central role in the project’s identity. RCR Arquitectes works with CALQ Architecture on the office complex, while Baumschlager Eberle brings a distinct architectural voice to the hotel. These buildings are part of a wider landscape strategy led by Michel Desvigne, who designed the island’s exterior spaces, from the public garden along the Seine to 3,000 square meters of planted terraces.
The project is designed as a walkable metropolitan destination. Streets, squares, covered areas, outdoor paths, riverbanks and planted areas connect the program and frame the views on both sides of the island. The design encourages movement through cultural, commercial and natural spaces, allowing the island to function as a place to visit, work, live and gather.
La Pointe des Arts is also part of the wider Vallée de la Culture initiative, launched by the Hauts-de-Seine department to boost cultural spaces and events across the region. In this context, the project does more than fill a website. It adds another layer to the cultural infrastructure of Grand Paris and positions Île Seguin as a destination shaped by architecture, public life and access to the Seine.
Work began in August 2022, with openings planned in phases from 2026. The municipal public park Gauthier Mougin is due to open in the spring of 2026, followed in the fall by the cinema, shops, restaurants, Emerige’s move-in, Large, the contemporary arts center and the hotel. Since construction began, the site has also supported access to employment, with 170 jobseekers gaining work experience in over 84,000 hours of work.
