Introduction: The Louvre Pyramid is a museum located in Paris, France. It was first opened in 1989 by an architecture called I. M. Pei who designed the building. It was designed to be a part of a project called ‘Grand louvre’ by the French president, this project was created to modernize and expand museum since the old one had very small entrances and the layout was confusing for the amount of visitors that were coming each day. In 1993 it then expanded even more when it was split up into a modern shopping-mall. First Impressions: At first glance, this building is very captivating and outstanding, especially at night when the pyramid is lit up with millions of lights which then draws your attention towards it. The size of the building also makes it eye catching, with the building reaching up to 22 metres high, it’s a very different contrast with the building that surrounds it due to it being very modern. This building draws you in and makes you very curious as to what’s on the inside as there are not many museums like this around the world and especially not in Paris. Context: The Louvre Pyramid does not fit into its surroundings. The building is located in the courtyard of a surrounding building which is very historic and aged, it is very big and grand whereas the Louvre is very modern and simple. This was the architects plan, he did not want it to “look like a mere subway station” Pei wanted to design a building that drew the visitors to the museums entrance. Function: The function of the building is a museum and below is a shopping mall for the general public to visit. It offers a very large and easy to move around space which makes it accessible for tourists and locals to do their shopping and also view the museum. Inspiration: One of I. M. Pei's inspirations was the Pyramid of Giza which has the same proportions and size as the Louvre Pyramid. |
Image 19: I. M. Pei (1989) The Louvre Pyramid
Image 20: I. M. Pei (1989) The Louvre Pyramid
Image 21: I. M. Pei (1989) The Louvre Pyramid Plan
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