Asian Arts Museum

The Asian Arts Department Museum is a museum located near the Phœnix Park in Nice (Alpes-Maritimes), which houses Asian art collections. It was inaugurated16 octobre 1998. Following a donation that did not succeed, the museum formed its ex nihilo collections.

The museum was designed by Japanese architect Kenzo Tange: " In my mind, this museum is a brilliant snow jewel in the azure of the Mediterranean. It is a swan that floats on a peaceful lake in the middle of lush vegetation... ". Adjacent to a floral park, the building is above an artificial lake and gives the illusion of floating on the water.

The architectural aesthetics of the museum are based on the contrast of the full forms covered with marble giving an impression of robustness and transparent walls bringing it lightness. The removal of the walls in contact with the water gives the building an impression of playing laws of the assessor.

Pierre-Yves Trémois is at the origin of the project by offering in the mid-1980s his collection of Asian art to the City of Nice in exchange for the creation of a museum. Jacques Médecin, mayor of Nice from 1966 to 1990, supports the project installed in the heart of the ZAC Arénas, then in full development.