Nearly four decades after I.M. Pei transformed the Musee du Louvre with his landmark glass pyramid, the world's most visited museum is preparing for its next major architectural chapter. New York studio Selldorf Architects and Paris-based STUDIOS Architecture have been named winners of the Louvre-Nouvelle Renaissance competition, securing the largest renovation project at the institution since 1989.
The French Minister of Culture, Catherine Pegard, announced the winning team on Monday, selecting their proposal from a heavyweight shortlist that included AL_A with NC Nathalie Criniere, Sou Fujimoto Architects, Diller Scofidio + Renfro with Architecturestudio, and SANAA with Dubuisson Architecture.
A New Entrance Beneath the Colonnade
At the heart of the winning scheme is a pair of subterranean entrances carved into the moat alongside the museum's eastern Colonnade wing. Accessed by symmetrical ramps that extend above the moat before recessing into the stone walls, the entrances are designed to ease congestion at Pei's pyramid, which has struggled to handle visitor numbers now exceeding nine million annually.
Beneath ground level, cafes and bookshops will occupy the undercroft spaces, while the moat itself becomes a public garden designed by landscape architects BASE Paysagiste.
A Room of Her Own
Inside the museum, the renovation delivers something the Louvre has long promised: a dedicated exhibition space for the Mona Lisa. Leonardo da Vinci's portrait currently shares a crowded gallery in the Denon Wing, drawing bottlenecks of visitors that degrade the experience for everyone. The new gallery will give the painting room to breathe while freeing circulation through the surrounding halls.
Gallery spaces throughout the eastern block will also be upgraded to modern environmental and security standards, a move partly driven by last year's high-profile break-in at the museum.
Not Without Controversy
The project has not been universally welcomed. Louvre staff staged a strike in January demanding that renovation plans be scrapped in favour of addressing pressing building maintenance issues. The museum has since committed to a consultation period with employees, heritage authorities, the City of Paris, and the public before finalising the design.
Led by Annabelle Selldorf, the winning team brings serious institutional credibility. Selldorf Architects recently completed renovations of the National Gallery's Sainsbury Wing in London and The Frick Collection in New York, while STUDIOS Architecture's Paris office brings local knowledge to one of the most symbolically charged commissions in architecture.