Frank Gehry's twisting Luma Arles tower nears completion in France

Scaly aluminium cladding and projecting glass boxes wrap around Frank Gehry's Luma Arles tower, which is nearing completion in the south of France.

Revealed in new photos by Atelier Vincent Hecht, the twisting tower in the city of Arles has reached its full height of 56 metres ahead of its opening in spring.

The structure was designed by Gehry as the centrepiece of the Luma Arles, an arts centre established by Swiss collector Maja Hoffmann that began construction in 2014.

The project has transformed an abandoned rail yard once owned by SNCF that was left vacant in 1986.

Atelier Vincent Hecht's photos reveal the distinctive facade of the Luma Arles tower, which is finished with 11,000 aluminium panels irregularly arranged around its concrete and steel frame.

Described by architecture critic Frank Miller as a "stainless-steel tornado", the cladding was designed by Gehry to evoke the craggy limestone cliffs around the city for which it is known.

The photos also reveal the building's glass and stone base nearing completion.

This cylindrical base makes reference to the Roman amphitheatre in Arles, part of the city's designated UNESCO World Heritage site.

Once complete, Gehry's tower will contain a mix of artist studios, workshops, seminar rooms and research facilities.

These will be complemented by a series of exhibition spaces across the complex that are being designed by New York-based Selldorf Architects within six existing industrial buildings on the site.

Hoffmann has contributed €150 million (£133 million) to the project through the Luma Foundation, which she also set up to support independent artists.

The scheme will be complete with a public park, named the Parc des Ateliers, which is been developed by Belgian landscape architect Bureau Bas Smets.

Pritzker Prize-winning Gehry is an American-Canadian architect best known for the titanium-clad Guggenheim Museum Bilbao that opened in Spain in 1997.

More recently, he completed the Louis Vuitton Maison Seoul that features a facade of sweeping glass sails and proposed iceberg-like headquarters for the Warner Bros in Los Angeles.

Photography is by Atelier Vincent Hecht.

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Hyundai unveils electric vehicle concept that looks like a "perfectly weathered stone"

Hyundai has revealed its latest Prophecy concept car that has smooth lines that are designed to prompt an emotional response.

The all-black Prophecy is an electric and autonomous concept vehicle that aims to build an emotional connection between humans and cars using what the company calls "optimistic futurism".

According to the South Korean carmaker, the concept represents its design language of "sensuous sportiness", and acts as a smoother continuation of its 45 concept revealed in 2019, which had a more rectilinear form.

The car's sensuous quality is embodied in its "voluptuous" side sections, which Hyundai likens to a "perfectly weathered stone".

Taking cues from aerodynamic design, the Prophecy has an extended wheelbase and short overhang in addition to its smoothed out body surface.

This streamlined design extends from the front to the rear of the car, and ends with a boat-tail line formed by the rear quarter panels, which are designed to give the vehicle a sense of motion when stationary.

Propeller shaped parts embedded into the car's wheel also draw in air, which flows down the side of the body "like water over a stone".

An integrated rear spoiler further enhances this effect by controlling downforce, aiding the vehicle's stability when travelling at speed.

"We have brought to life yet another icon that establishes a new standard for the EV segment as well as pushing Hyundai's design vision to even broader horizons," said SangYup Lee, head of Hyundai Global Design Center.

"A part of that expansion is what we call optimistic futurism, a design concept embodied by Prophecy," he added. "With optimistic futurism, our aim is to forge an emotional connection between humans and automobiles."

A transparent acrylic material has been used to form the spoiler, headlamps and camera monitoring system to grant a clear view of the functional components beneath.

These parts of the car are illuminated with "pixel lamp lights" – a series of lit, square-shaped elements in a grid formation, which were first featured on the 45 concept.

This pixellated lighting style is Hyundai's way of hinting towards the energy contained in the vehicle's battery cells and, as the company explains, will now be maintained as a "signature design element" in its future models.

The four-seater driverless car has a spacious interior due to its electric powertrain. At the front, in place of where a steering wheel would typically be, are two joysticks.

Positioned in the centre console and on the door trim of the vehicle, these joysticks can pivot left and right to control the vehicle from a more comfortable seating position.

When in "relax mode", for instance, which sees the passenger in a reclined position, the dashboard moves to allow for more interior space, granting the rider a better view of the electronic display.

The car has a wide air intake installed below the bumper that takes in fresh air and uses it to cool the batteries. Intakes positioned at the bottom of the side doors also allow air to circulate inside the vehicle.

This process also works to purify the circulated air, before expelling it back into the atmosphere as clean air.

An eco-friendly mindset was adopted when choosing the interior materials, which includes a wool-based felt carpet, and the designers opted for a colour palette of blues and greys paired with low ambient lighting to emulate a relaxing atmosphere.

Hyundai's Prophecy concept was originally set to debut at this year's Geneva Motor Show, however the event was cancelled in response to the coronavirus outbreak.

Another automaker that planned to display its latest creations at the show was Renault, which instead released its Morphoz concept online.

The fully electric concept car can be physically extended from a small city-car size to a larger model better suited to long-distance driving.

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