The Musée du Quai Branly is one of the most striking new buildings on the Paris landscape. The home architect behind the museum project was inspired by environmental quality norms and sustainable development criteria, and used aluminium building systems from Hydro.

Located along the Seine River, the Musée du Quai Branly has neighbors like the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre. It was inaugurated last June by French president Jacques Chirac.

The museum, built on one of the last available sites in the heart of Paris, was designed by the architect Jean Nouvel. He selected the Hydro brand Technal as one of the suppliers.

Technal, the leader in aluminium building systems in France, delivered aluminium curtain walling for the construction. Further, the project included brand products from Hydro suppliers Wicona and Architectural Systems.

"Products from three brands - Technal, Wicona and Architectural Systems - were specified because this was the best answer to the very specific facade along the Seine," says Claude Prévost, sales manager for Hydro Building Systems in France. "Our aluminium systems were adapted to this high-quality environmental museum.

"This project is an example of our commercial strategy: We want sustainability to be a pillar of progress in the future."

Hydro Building Systems, which includes the brands Technal, Domal and Wicona, develops and sells aluminium-based building systems destined for more than 100 countries around the globe. It is part of Hydro, one of the world's leading suppliers of energy and aluminium, with 33,000 employees in nearly 40 countries.