Architect Jean Nouvel designed the Philharmonie like a hill overlooking the Parc de la Villette, on the outskirts of Paris. The building includes a 2,400-seat concert hall, the Grande Salle Pierre Boulez, exhibition spaces, educational workshops, and rehearsal rooms. Its aluminium spirals are covered with a cladding of aluminium birds in seven shapes and four shades of grey, the manufacture and installation of which constituted a real technical challenge. The result is a gigantic mosaic that reflects the sky and whose birds come to life in the light.