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Louvre Pyramid
The Louvre Pyramid (French: Pyramide du Louvre) is a large glass-and-metal entrance way and skylight designed by the Chinese-American architect I. M. Pei. The pyramid is in the main courtyard (Cour Napoléon) of the Louvre Palace in Paris, surrounded by three smaller pyramids. The large pyramid serves as the main entrance to the Louvre Museum, allowing light to the underground visitors hall, while also allowing sight lines of the palace to visitors in the hall, and through access galleries to the different wings of the palace. Completed in 1989 as part of the broader Grand Louvre project, it has become a landmark of Paris.
The Grand Louvre project was announced in 1981 by François Mitterrand, the president of France. In 1983 the Chinese-American architect I. M. Pei was selected as its architect. The pyramid structure was initially designed by Pei in late 1983 and presented to the public in early 1984. Constructed entirely with glass segments and metal poles, it reaches a height of 21.6 metres (71 ft). Its square base has sides of 34 metres (112 ft) and a base surface area of 1,000 square metres (11,000 sq ft). It consists of 603 rhombus-shaped and 70 triangular glass segments. The sides' angle relative to the base is 51.52 degrees, an angle similar to that of ancient Egyptian pyramids.
The pyramid structure was engineered by Nicolet Chartrand Knoll Ltd. of Montreal (pyramid structure / design consultant) and Rice Francis Ritchie of Paris (pyramid structure / construction phase).
The pyramid and the underground lobby beneath it were created because of deficiencies with the Louvre's earlier layout, which could no longer handle the increasing number of visitors on an everyday basis. Visitors entering through the pyramid descend into the spacious lobby then ascend into the main Louvre buildings.
For design historian Mark Pimlott, "I.M. Pei’s plan distributes people effectively from the central concourse to myriad destinations within its vast subterranean network... the architectonic framework evokes, at gigantic scale, an ancient atrium of a Pompeiian villa; the treatment of the opening above, with its tracery of engineered castings and cables, evokes the atria of corporate office buildings; the busy movement of people from all directions suggests the concourses of rail termini or international airports."
Several other museums and commercial centers have emulated this concept, most notably the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago and Pioneer Place in Portland, designed by Kathie Stone Milano with ELS/Elbasani and Logan, Architects from Berkeley, California.
The construction work on the pyramid base and underground lobby was carried out by the Vinci construction company.
The construction of the pyramid triggered many years of lively aesthetic and political debate. Criticisms tended to fall into four areas:
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Louvre Pyramid
The Louvre Pyramid (French: Pyramide du Louvre) is a large glass-and-metal entrance way and skylight designed by the Chinese-American architect I. M. Pei. The pyramid is in the main courtyard (Cour Napoléon) of the Louvre Palace in Paris, surrounded by three smaller pyramids. The large pyramid serves as the main entrance to the Louvre Museum, allowing light to the underground visitors hall, while also allowing sight lines of the palace to visitors in the hall, and through access galleries to the different wings of the palace. Completed in 1989 as part of the broader Grand Louvre project, it has become a landmark of Paris.
The Grand Louvre project was announced in 1981 by François Mitterrand, the president of France. In 1983 the Chinese-American architect I. M. Pei was selected as its architect. The pyramid structure was initially designed by Pei in late 1983 and presented to the public in early 1984. Constructed entirely with glass segments and metal poles, it reaches a height of 21.6 metres (71 ft). Its square base has sides of 34 metres (112 ft) and a base surface area of 1,000 square metres (11,000 sq ft). It consists of 603 rhombus-shaped and 70 triangular glass segments. The sides' angle relative to the base is 51.52 degrees, an angle similar to that of ancient Egyptian pyramids.
The pyramid structure was engineered by Nicolet Chartrand Knoll Ltd. of Montreal (pyramid structure / design consultant) and Rice Francis Ritchie of Paris (pyramid structure / construction phase).
The pyramid and the underground lobby beneath it were created because of deficiencies with the Louvre's earlier layout, which could no longer handle the increasing number of visitors on an everyday basis. Visitors entering through the pyramid descend into the spacious lobby then ascend into the main Louvre buildings.
For design historian Mark Pimlott, "I.M. Pei’s plan distributes people effectively from the central concourse to myriad destinations within its vast subterranean network... the architectonic framework evokes, at gigantic scale, an ancient atrium of a Pompeiian villa; the treatment of the opening above, with its tracery of engineered castings and cables, evokes the atria of corporate office buildings; the busy movement of people from all directions suggests the concourses of rail termini or international airports."
Several other museums and commercial centers have emulated this concept, most notably the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago and Pioneer Place in Portland, designed by Kathie Stone Milano with ELS/Elbasani and Logan, Architects from Berkeley, California.
The construction work on the pyramid base and underground lobby was carried out by the Vinci construction company.
The construction of the pyramid triggered many years of lively aesthetic and political debate. Criticisms tended to fall into four areas: