All future residential buildings in Montpellier must feature works of art

And the value of the artworks can’t be lower than 1% of the price paid for the land lot

The Montpellier metropolitan area has made it a compulsory rule that all housing development projects in that French city must include a work of art in their common areas. With that stipulation, Montpellier will be the first city in that country (and for all we know – in the world) to mandate the inclusion of art into the architectural design process.

The stated aim of the authorities is to turn the Mediterranean city into a true open-air art museum by making modern art part of the daily life and habitat of residents, rather than just keeping it stored away in museums.

Making space for culture in the urban jungle

The regulation specifies that each promoter must now integrate into their project a work validated by Copaqo, the committee responsible for the artistic management of the initiative. The work of the committee is to avoid preferential treatment of artists and always choosing the same name. Nevertheless, there hasn’t been a mention of the process of picking the right artist and artwork to grace the residential building.

What’s clear is that the budget allocated for commissioning the art will have to be to the value of no less than 1% of the price paid for the land lot where the building is constructed – with a minimum value of 10,000 euros.

As far as the format of the artwork is concerned, there’s plenty of leeway provided given that it can be a sculpture, a fresco, street art or an installation.

The new rule makes it so that by 2026, around a hundred works in the Montpellier metropolis, some of which will be visible from public spaces and others installed in the common areas of buildings, should be unveiled, corresponding to an investment of several hundred million euros.