five finalist teams revealed for the louvre competition in paris
France’s Ministry of Culture unveils the five finalist teams competing to reimagine the most visited museum in the world as part of the ambitious Louvre – Nouvelle Renaissance project (find designboom’s previous coverage here). Following an international call that attracted more than a hundred submissions, two-thirds of which came from abroad, the shortlist announced marks a milestone in the transformation of the museum.
The jury of twenty-one members reviewed the proposals before naming the five finalist teams. These are Amanda Levete Architects (AL_A) with NC Nathalie Crinière, Carole Bénaiteau, VDLA, and Atelier SOIL; Architecture Studio with Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Atelier Brückner, LAMA YA, and TER; Dubuisson Architecture with SANAA and Dan Pearson Studio; Sou Fujimoto Ateliers Paris with Sou Fujimoto Architects, Ducks Scéno, and Vogt Paysage; and STUDIOS Architecture with Selldorf Architects, Scénarchie, and BASE.
image courtesy of Musée du Louvre
Nouvelle Renaissance reimagines the museum’s visitor experience
Announced by Emmanuel Macron in January 2025, Louvre – Nouvelle Renaissance represents a vast scientific, cultural, architectural, and environmental undertaking. The project envisions a renewal of the museum’s infrastructure and the creation of new spaces and access points that will redefine how visitors experience the Louvre.
The first component, titled Louvre – Grande Colonnade, focuses on creating new public entrances through the eastern section of the palace, restoring the original intent behind Louis XIV’s monumental facade.
These new access points will ease congestion at I. M. Pei’s glass pyramid and improve circulation throughout the museum, while offering visitors a more comfortable and inclusive welcome. Beneath the Cour Carrée and the surrounding gardens, a new underground expansion will introduce an additional museum wing, including a dedicated gallery for the Mona Lisa. This so-called Parcours Joconde aims to recontextualize Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece and to redistribute the intense flow of visitors that currently converges on the Denon Wing.
A new grand exhibition hall will also be built, enabling the Louvre to host larger and more varied temporary shows and strengthening its role as a contemporary cultural venue. The broader aim is to reconnect the museum with its surrounding urban landscape, from the moats of the Grande Colonnade to the facades overlooking Place du Louvre.
image courtesy of Musée du Louvre
preserving heritage while building for the future
The second component, Louvre Demain, introduces a long-term masterplan for renovating the infrastructures and technical systems of the museum, ensuring that the monumental site meets 21st-century standards of sustainability and accessibility. The architectural interventions will be carried out under the supervision of François Chatillon, Chief Architect of Historical Monuments.
Through Louvre – Nouvelle Renaissance, the museum seeks to balance historic grandeur with contemporary needs, expanding the legacy of Pei’s Grand Louvre project of the 1980s and 1990s, which transformed the Cour Napoléon and Richelieu Wing but left the eastern facade largely untouched. The initiative sets out to complete that vision, reuniting the classical architecture of the palace with the city that surrounds it.
image courtesy of Musée du Louvre
image © Franck Bohbot
image © Franck Bohbot
21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa (2004) by SANAA | image courtesy of the architects
L’Arbre Blanc by Sou Fujimoto | image by Iwan Baan
Central Embassy by Amanda Levete Architects (AL_A) in Thailand | image © Hufton + Crow
Garden Court, The Frick Collection, New York, led by Selldorf Architects | image © Joseph Coscia Jr.
Community Swimming Pool, Châteaulin by Dubuisson Architecture | image courtesy of the architects
project info:
name: Louvre – Nouvelle Renaissance
location: Musée du Louvre | @museelouvre, Paris, France
shortlisted teams: Amanda Levete Architects / AL_A | @amandalevetearchitects, Architecture Studio with Diller Scofidio + Renfro | @diller_scofidio_renfro, Dubuisson Architecture | @dubuissonarchitecture with SANAA | @sanaa_jimusho, Sou Fujimoto | @sou_fujimoto, STUDIOS Architecture | @studiosarchitecture with Selldorf Architects
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