The team comprises STUDIOS Architecture (led by James Cowey), Selldorf Architects (led by Annabelle Selldorf), and Base Landscape Architecture for the landscape and urban intervention.
Within the overall framework of technical improvements and modernization, the project highlights the Louvre Colonnade (south façade), creates new entrances and organized circulation routes from the east of the site, and updates the surrounding areas.
The proposal establishes an elegant connection between the city, the palace, and the museum, while developing a sensitive geography of movement, attentive to the visitor experience from the exterior to the interior of the museum.
Among the values considered by the jury were the striking symmetry around the east-west axis and the clarity of the pathways that guide the overall composition.
Night view from the exterior of the new access points, proposed by STUDIOS Architecture Paris and Selldorf Architects. Rendering by Vincent Atelier.
From the elevated platform near the Louvre, the historic east-west urban layout is revived, organizing the visitor's experience within a tranquil public space that stretches from Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois to the Louvre esplanade, facilitating access to the Colonnade.
The original view, connecting the Grande Arche de la Défense from the Cour Carrée and the Pyramid, passing by the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel and the Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile, is restored, creating a space that allows for a view of the Louvre's façade. The proposal also recovers the view of the moats, which, transformed and landscaped, create an urban oasis.
"The descent into the moats is via two symmetrical, gently sloping ramps, providing a clear and partially accessible route protected by the thickness of the retaining wall.
The overall balance between stone and vegetation contributes to the comfort of visitors. The new restaurant and bookstore spaces, located beneath the ramps and within the recess in the wall, are accessible to everyone from the moat level.
The museum's two new underground entrances, situated on either side of the moats, on the banks of the Seine and the Rue de Rivoli, provide access to bright and functional reception areas that open onto the new exhibition spaces and the Mona Lisa display, all connected to the rest of the museum."
