Rust-red outside; coal-black inside: the outer skin of the Soulages Museum in preoxidized steel makes reference to the reddish stone of the nearby medieval cathedral, while the black-steel internal lining echoes the work of the internationally renowned artist exhibited here. In 2014, Pierre Soulages donated 500 of his works to the municipality of Rodez in the south of France, his place of birth. For ­almost 40 years he has painted exclusively black monochrome works.

The architecture is similarly abstract and minimalistic, with five angular cross-strips of different sizes intersecting a flat plinth structure glazed only on its north face. In contrast, the south facade has a more restrained appearance – with the exception of a broadly cantilevered canopy roof that thrusts itself out over the promenade.