The construction of Frank Gehry's aluminium-clad Luma Arles is underway in south France

A twisting tower clad Luma Arles in reflective aluminium tiles is reportedly taking form in the south of France and will expectedly open in spring 2020.

Luma Arles is an arts centre designed by Pritzker Prize winner Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry and established by Swiss collector Maja Hoffmann. Gehry has had a reputation as the go-to architect for rejuvenation projects since his Guggenheim Museum Bilbao opened in Spain in 1997.

Set on the site of an abandoned SNCF rail yard, Luma Arles will be 56 metres high when complete. It is formed of a concrete core with a steel frame, along with glass boxes and shining aluminium panels stacked around the frame in an irregular formation above a circular glass atrium. Inside the vast circular atrium will recall the Roman amphitheatre in Arles, part of the city’s designated UNESCO World Heritage site.

Hoffmann has contributed €150 million (£133 million) to the project through Luma Foundation that supports independent artists, reported ArtNet.

Gehry had been associated with many other projects, such as the undulating buildings of titanium and limestone. The building credited with attracting so much prosperity to the port that it coined the term "the Bilbao effect". He also recently completed an extension for tech giant Facebook’s campus in Palo Alto.

Currently, he is renovating the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

The Arla Lumes brings together artists and designers from disciplines to encourage them to innovate.