Catherine Pégard, Ministre of Culture, announces the winning team of the international architecture competition for Louvre New Renaissance: STUDIOS Architecture Paris and Selldorf Architects.
Repair and transformation are the dual objectives of the grand Louvre plan launched at the beginning of 2025 titled Louvre New Renaissance.
Announced by the President of the Republic in the presence of the Minister of Culture and the Mayor of Paris, nearly 40 years after the Grand Louvre and its iconic pyramid designed by 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, better protect and share its collections, and adapt to the expectations of its audiences. The program meets the imperatives of sustainable development, which are also the challenge for the museum in the coming decades.
Within this overall framework of technical upgrade and modernization to face contemporary challenges, the “Grande Colonnade” competition is a major step forward. It prepares the museum for a new chapter in its history: highlighting the Louvre Colonnade, a masterpiece of classical architecture, reconnecting with the city’s unique heritage, and providing greater accessibility to all audiences. Through new access points and organized circulations from the eastern part of the domain, with a requalification of the surroundings, this project enhances the sustainable improvement of visitor reception conditions and staff work within the world’s most visited museum.
The highly qualified jury, including Marc Guillaume, Prefect of the Île-de-France region and Prefect of Paris, serving as president, and Christophe Leribault, President-Director of the Public Establishment of the Louvre Museum, serving as vice-president, met on May 13 in the presence of Emmanuel Grégoire, Mayor of Paris, to review the projects submitted by the five groups admitted to the competition. Following the jury’s discussions, which praised the high level of the proposals 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 embracing the challenges of public reception quality, clear pathways, simplicity, and greening, all while considering security issues.
The Winning Team
STUDIOS Architecture Paris, leading the winning team and led by James Cowey, is the French agency of an international collective founded in 1985, with offices in New York City, Washington, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Toronto. Among its major cultural projects are the Fondation Louis Vuitton and the Fondation LUMA, designed in collaboration with Gehry Partners.
Selldorf Architects, the associated agency responsible for the design, was founded in New York in 1988 by Annabelle Selldorf. The agency designs public and private spaces combining contemporary sensitivity, simplicity, and sustainability. It has distinguished itself through expertise in complex cultural projects, with major realizations and renovations such as The Frick Collection in New York and the National Gallery in London (Sainsbury Wing), praised for their architectural quality and integration into existing buildings. Selldorf Architects also handles scenography and museography. BASE Landscape Architecture is responsible for landscape and urban design.
The Project by STUDIOS Architecture Paris and Selldorf Architects
The winning team gives a respectful and contemporary impetus to the entry project through the Colonnade. Building an urban, architectural, and landscape vision, the proposal creates an elegant connection between the city, the palace, and the museum, carefully crafting a sensitive geography of movement, from the surroundings to the interior of the museum.
The marked symmetry around the East-West axis and the clarity of pathways guide the overall composition. From the bell tower facing the Louvre, the historical 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, up to a clearly marked entrance facing the Colonnade.
The original perspective, connecting the La Défense arch from the Cour Carrée and the Pyramid through the Carrousel and Etoile Arches, finds a complete continuity with a belvedere conducive to contemplating the Louvre facade. It offers a view of the transformed and landscaped moats, providing a refreshing sight.
The descent to the moats is mainly via two symmetrical gently sloping ramps, offering a clear and partially sheltered path within the thickness of the scarp wall. The overall balance between mineral and greenery contributes to the visitors’ climatic comfort. New dining and bookstore-boutique spaces, arranged under the ramps and in the hollow of the wall, are accessible to everyone from the level of the moats.
The two new underground museum entrances located on either side of the moats, near the Seine and Rue de Rivoli, provide access to clear and functional receptions opening onto new exhibition spaces and the Mona Lisa route, all connecting to other parts of the museum.
A Beginning, a Collective Story
Catherine Pégard welcomes the designation of the winning group of the competition as a foundational step to launch the transformation of the Louvre. In the months ahead, in close dialogue between the Louvre and the selected team, a period of consultation begins to refine the chosen project with all parties involved.
This consultation will first involve those who bring the Louvre to life every day, its staff, in collaboration with all actors of this collective project (City of Paris, State heritage and security services, etc.), and then with the public.
Key Highlights of the “Grande Colonnade” Competition Program
- Improve visitor reception and streamline their visit by creating a new entrance through the East façade of the building and new circulations to breathe life into the Louvre and irrigate all its collection presentation spaces;
- Highlight the historical entrance of the Louvre – one of the masterpieces of French classical architecture, the Colonnade, and its esplanade in a new and landscaped composition;
- Reconnect the Louvre with the city by requalifying the urban space in front of the Colonnade;
- Create a dedicated space for the Mona Lisa, allowing the public to discover and contemplate it in satisfactory conditions;
- Equip the Louvre Museum with a high-tech modular temporary exhibition space;
- Renew the visit experience and comfort with new relaxation areas, services (dining and bookstore-boutiques) to make the Louvre more welcoming, both inside and outside the museum.
