The five groups of architects selected for the international competition “Louvre – New Renaissance” were announced on October 10, 2025, marking a new stage in the Louvre Museum transformation project announced by President Emmanuel Macron on January 28. This selection comes following the call for tenders launched at the end of June 2025.
The jury, made up of 21 members and chaired by Marc Guillaume, prefect of the Île-de-France region, and Laurence des Cars, president and director of the Louvre, as vice-president, met on October 7. He chose five finalists from around a hundred applications, two-thirds of which came from abroad. This jury brought together architects, heritage specialists as well as representatives of the City of Paris and the Ministry of Culture. The proposals had to take into account architectural, urban planning, landscape and scenographic aspects.
The teams selected are: Amanda Levete Architects (AL_A), designer in particular of the Belgrade Philharmonic; Architecture Studio, associated with the American agency Diller Scofidio + Renfro, the first having designed the new premises of Sotheby’s in Paris; Dubuisson Architecture, designer of the Foyer du Carrousel du Louvre, associated with the Japanese studio SANAA, designer of the Louvre-Lens; Sou Fujimoto Architects, known for the Arbre Blanc in Montpellier and the Japanese pavilion at the Osaka Universal Exhibition; and finally STUDIOS Architecture, associated with Selldorf Architects, recognized for the renovation of the Frick Museum in New York.
The “Louvre – New Renaissance” project has two components. The first, entitled “Grande Colonnade”, provides for the creation of a new main entrance under Perrault’s colonnade, the eastern facade of the palace, and the development of a museographic space dedicated to the Mona Lisa under the Cour Carrée. This device will ultimately make it possible to relieve congestion at the main entrance and the Denon wing.
The second, “Louvre Demain”, concerns the technical and energy renovation of the palace, bringing the installations up to standard and improving the conservation conditions of the works, in response to the deterioration of the building. This second axis will be led by Historical Monuments under the direction of chief architect François Chatillon.
The overall budget is estimated between 700 and 900 million euros. Funding is mainly based on the museum’s own resources, patronage, a price increase targeting non-European visitors (30 euros from 2026) as well as State participation.
The winner of the competition must be designated in January 2026. The delivery of the new entrance and spaces dedicated to The Mona Lisa is planned for 2031, while the technical renovation work will extend over at least a decade.
