Announcement of the winner of the international architectural competition for the transformation of the Louvre

Catherine Pégard, Minister of Culture, announces the winning team of the Louvre Nouvelle Renaissance international architecture competition: STUDIOS Architecture Paris and Selldorf Architects.

Repairing and transforming is the dual objective of the major Louvre plan launched at the start of 2025 entitled Louvre New Renaissance.

Announced by the President of the Republic in the presence of the Minister of Culture and the Mayor of Paris, almost 40 years after the Grand Louvre and its emblematic pyramid designed by the architect Ieoh Ming Pei, this plan responds to an important need for renovation and transformation of the museum to sustainably preserve the architectural heritage of the Louvre, to better protect and share its collections and adapt it to the expectations of its audiences. The program responds to the imperatives of sustainable development which are also the challenge of the coming decades for the museum.

In this global framework of technical upgrading and modernization to face contemporary challenges, the “Grande Colonnade” competition is a major step forward. It prepares the museum for a new stage in its history: that of the development of the Colonnade of the Louvre, a masterpiece of classical architecture, of the reconnection to the city of a heritage unique in the world and that of its greater accessibility to all audiences. Through new access and organized circulation from the east of the area, through a requalification of the surrounding area, this project promotes the lasting improvement of the reception conditions for the public and the work of the teams within the most visited museum in the world.

The highly qualified jury, of which Marc Guillaume, Prefect of the ÃŽle-de-France region, prefect of Paris, was president and Christophe Leribault, President-director of the Public Establishment of the Louvre Museum, was vice-president. met on May 13 in the presence of Emmanuel Grégoire, mayor of Paris, to examine the projects proposed by the five groups admitted to compete. At the end of the jury’s discussions, which were pleased with the high level of the offers submitted by the candidates, the project submitted by STUDIOS Architecture Paris and Selldorf Architects was selected for the quality of its architectural proposal and its heritage, urban and landscape integration, fully integrating the issues of quality of reception of the public, clarity of paths, sobriety and greenery, all with relevant consideration of safety issues.

 

The lauréate team

STUDIOS Architecture Paris, agent of the winning group and chaired by James Cowey, is the French agency of an international collective founded in 1985, present in New York City, Washington, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Toronto. Among his major cultural achievements are the Louis Vuitton Foundation and the LUMA Foundation, carried out alongside Gehry Partners.

Selldorf Architects, an associated design firm, was founded in New York in 1988 by Annabelle Selldorf. The agency designs public and private spaces combining contemporary sensitivity, sobriety and sustainability. It has particularly distinguished itself by its expertise in complex cultural projects, with major achievements and renovations such as The Frick Collection in New York and the National Gallery in London (Sainsbury Wing), widely praised for their architectural qualities and integration with existing buildings.

Selldorf Architects also provides scenography and museography. BASE Landscape Architecture is in charge of the landscape and urban planning aspects.

 

The project by STUDIOS Architecture Paris and Selldorf Architects

The winning team gives a respectful and contemporary impetus to the Colonnade entrance project. Constructing an urban, architectural and landscape vision, the proposal establishes an elegant connection between the city, the palace and the museum, while deploying a sensitive geography of movement, attentive to the visitor’s experience from the surrounding area to the interior of the museum.

The marked symmetry around the East-West axis and the clarity of the routes guide the overall composition.

From the belfry located opposite the Louvre, the historic East-West axis is reactivated, organizing the arrival of visitors in a peaceful and harmonious public space from Saint-Germain-l’Auxerrois to the Louvre esplanade, to a legible entry point facing the Colonnade.

The original perspective, which joins the Arch of the Defense from the Cour Carrée and the Pyramid via the Arcs de Triomphe of the Carrousel and the Etoile, finds here full continuity with a belvedere conducive to contemplation of the facade of the Louvre. It offers a vision of the transformed and vegetated ditches which offer an island of freshness.

The descent towards the ditches is mainly via two symmetrical, gently sloping ramps offering a clear and partially sheltered path in the thickness of the stone of the counterscarp wall.

The overall balance between mineral and plant life contributes to the climatic comfort of visitors. New restaurant and bookstore areas, set up under the ramps and in the hollow of the wall, are accessible to all from the moat level.

The two new underground entrances to the museum located on either side of the moats, on the Seine side and rue de Rivoli, provide access to clear and functional reception areas opening onto the new exhibition spaces and the route of the Mona Lisathe whole being connected to the other parts of the museum.

 

A beginning, a story that is written collectively

Catherine Pégard welcomes the designation of the winning group of the competition which is a founding step in launching the transformation of the Louvre. For the months to come, in a close dialogue between the Louvre and the selected team, a period of consultation begins with a view to refining the selected project with all the stakeholders involved.

This consultation will be carried out first with those who bring the Louvre to life on a daily basis, its agents, in conjunction with all the players in this collective project (City of Paris, State services in charge of heritage, security, etc.), then with the public.

 

The outline of the program for the “Grande Colonnade” plan competition

Better welcome visitors and make their visit more fluid by creating a new access via the east façade of the building and new circulation patterns to make the Louvre breathe and irrigate all its collection presentation spaces;

Highlight the historic entrance to the Louvre – one of the masterpieces of classical French architecture, the Colonnade, and its esplanade in a new, green composition;

Reconnect the Louvre with the city with a requalification of the urban space located in front of the Colonnade;

Create a dedicated space for Mona Lisaallowing the public to discover and contemplate it in satisfactory conditions;

Provide the Louvre Museum with a modular temporary exhibition space of a high technical level;

Renew the experience and comfort of visiting with new relaxation areas and services (catering and bookstores) to make the Louvre more hospitable, inside and outside the museum.