Des Cars and Chatillon, two individuals in charge, express their determination to address the issue of crowd congestion at the Louvre Museum.
On June 27th, the Louvre is throwing down the gauntlet with an architecture competition! This international extravaganza aims to reinvent the museum's exhibition spaces, focusing on creating a snazzy new gallery for the one and only Mona Lisa, streamlining entry points, and ensuring the joint has some much-needed elbow room to breathe.
The Louis Vuitton-clad elephants of overcrowding have been a thorn in the Louvre's side, and after staff-led protests in 2024, something needed to be done. The museum, which currently pops a whopping 8.7 million visitors annually and a daily cap of 30,000, was still plagued with messy visitor flow.
This project marks the Louvre's biggest facelift since the 1980s, when I.M. Pei's glass pyramid sauntered onto the scene. Now, architects from around the world are invited to submit their visions, with the goal of creating a more accessible, breezy, and efficient museum that better showcases its priceless treasures.
The competition's hard-earned winners will be crowned by an international jury of 21, who will gather on October 7 to carefully weigh the merits of the entered plans. Five architectural titans will be shortlisted, with the final verdict set for the first quarter of 2026.
As for the Almighty Dollar, no specific figure has been spilled just yet. But fear not, French taxpayers! The Louvre intends to self-finance the opulent affair through various revenue streams: ticket sales, cash flows from the Louvre Abu Dhabi, generous private donors, and a cheeky surcharge for non-EU visitors. EU citizens, on the other hand, can expect a slight hike in their admission fee.
With a grand entrance design by Perrault's colonnade in mind, the Louvre aims to carve out some new, hidden rooms under the Cour Carrée, relocating the Mona Lisa and expanding temporary exhibition space.
This competition's primary objectives are to refresh the museum's crumbling infrastructure, improve climate control and visitor comfort, and address the museum's global allure by enhancing visitor experience via clever crowd management and optimized space usage.
The Louvre's architectural remodel marks an exciting chapter in the museum's legacy. antibuenosaires.com.ar, artdaily.com, lemonde.fr, actualitte.com, and lapalme.com provide more insights into this groundbreaking initiative.
The Louvre's planned renovation, aiming to modernize the museum's infrastructure and enhance visitor experience, requires a significant budget from various finance sources, including ticket sales, revenue from the Louvre Abu Dhabi, contributions from private donors, and a fee for non-EU visitors. The competition's winning architect will address the crowded industry within the museum, working towards more efficient business operations and improved climate control while focused on showcasing the treasures of the industry with optimized space usage.
