La Terrasse

The western suburb of Nanterre is known for its banks, insurance agencies and fast food outlets, but hardly for its art scene. Yet despite (or because of?) the local dearth of cultural hotspots, this is precisely the site that the team behind the Villa des Tourelles gallery has picked for its new venture. An isolated patch of lawn situated squarely on the Louvre–Arc de Triomphe–Défense axis has been converted into La Terrasse de Nanterre, described by Nanterre's arts councillor Sandrine Moreau as 'a laboratory, an experience', but which to us looks more like a small glass box – a sort of parody of the sleek corporate edifices that surround it.

Unassuming from the outside, the venue opens up inside onto a basement room for paintings and photography. The terrace surrounding the glass edifice doubles up as an exhibition space in its own right – when we visited, the multicoloured archways of Krij de Koning's 'Axes' enclosed the gallery, resonating neatly with the stark architecture of the area. Time will tell whether La Terrasse realises its stated mission to stage exhibits that investigate our relation with urban spaces; for now, our curiosity is piqued and our eyes peeled.