A Lazy Icon on the Riviera

My latest feature is just out in Architectural Record: 
Musée Jean Cocteau
Menton, France
Rudy Ricciotti, Architect
July 2012 issue

"If there is any corner of the world less in need of a contemporary architectural icon, that place is Menton, a lovely seaside hill town situated 2.5 miles from the Italian border on the French Riviera. With its gardens, villas and picturesque historic center, Menton retains the charms that once attracted luminaries such as Aubrey Beardsley, William Butler Yeats or the French poet, artist and filmmaker Jean Cocteau (1889-1963). But when municipal officials began to court the American art collector Severín Wunderman, and offered to build a permanent home for his collection of 990 works by Cocteau, the wheels were set in motion to create just such an icon, a new building that, in the words of Deputy Mayor Jean-Claude Guibal, would give Menton 'the status of a cultural destination in its own right, where bold projects ennoble the spirit of the site and reinforce its authenticity.' "
(Read on)

Here's a general view from the magazine article, © Roland Halbe (used with permission):

Photo, top: DC