Built between 1981 and 1987, the Institut du Monde Arabe (IMA), or the Arab World Institute, is a museum for Arabian art. Symbols from from Arabian culture combine with high-tech glass and steel.

The Arab World Institute has two faces. On the north side, facing the river, the building is sheathed in glass which is etched with a white ceramic image of the adjacent skyline. On the south side, the wall is covered with what seems to be moucharabieh, the kind of latticed screens found on patios and balconies in Arab countries.

The screens are actually grids of automated lenses used to control light.

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Lenses on the Arab World Institute >>