GROUP 5: LOUVRE MUSEUM

I. Preview statement - overview of all of main points.

1. Introduction (Duy Anh)

2. History (Tiến Lộc)

3. Architecture

a) (Thanh Hằng)

b) (Huy Hoàng)

c) (Xuân Như)

4. Conclusion (Văn Trung)

I. INTRODUCTION
- It is France's national museum and art gallery
- It houses one of the most famous collections of fine art: Venus de Milo and
the portrait of the Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci
- It is one of the city’s biggest tourist attractions (9 millions)
- its collection is divided into eight departments - Middle Eastern Antiquities;
Egyptian treasures; Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Antiquities; Islamic Art;
Paintings, and Prints and Drawings; Sculpture and Decorative Art
- It presents the transition from private collections to the public collections
LOCATION:

- It is a central landmark of the city

- It is located on the right of the Seine river in Paris

- It occupies a huge site area of

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 II. History : (Lộc)

The Louvre Pyramid (Pyramide du Louvre) is a large glass and metal pyramid designed by
Chinese-American architect I.M. Pei, surrounded by three smaller pyramids, in the main
courtyard (Cour Napoléon) of the Louvre Palace (Palais du Louvre) in Paris. The large
pyramid serves as the main entrance to the Louvre Museum. Completed in 1989, it has
become a landmark of the city of Paris.

Controversy

The construction of the pyramid triggered many years of strong and lively aesthetic and
political debate. Criticisms tended to fall into four areas:

(1) the modernist style of the edifice being inconsistent with the classic French Renaissance
style and history of the Louvre;

(2) the pyramid being an unsuitable symbol of death from ancient Egypt;

(3) the project being an immodest, pretentious, megalomaniacal folly imposed by then-
President Francois Mitterrand;

(4) Chinese-American architect I.M. Pei being insufficiently French to be entrusted with the
task of updating the treasured Parisian landmark

Those criticizing the aesthetics said it was "sacrilegious" to tamper with the Louvre's
majestic old French Renaissance architecture.
 III. Architecture :

concept : Hoàng, Hằng. Như

organizing itself in a U shape around a courtyard.

Then he had the idea of digging up the yard with nine meters underground and there
provided enough space for storage of works of art and loading equipment, an auditorium for
400 people, information areas, conference centers, a friendly cafe, book stores and souvenir
shops.
He refused to build a solid element that would compete with the presence of the baroque
buildings. By contrast, he chose a very discreteelement in comparison with the enormous
remodeling that was carried out underground.
The 21.6 m high pyramid is based on a metal space frame, which holds 672 glass panels that
define the grand access, bathed in light and a spacious and imposing space.

It is constructed of steel and metal, symbolizing a break with past traditions, it is work of our
time.

Inside, the light bathes the wide, marble-tone soft and warm spaces, elegantly housing the
artwork without trying to impose to it, as he did in his Miho Museum.
Built with the same proportions of the pyramid of Cheops, all steel and glass, is the main
gateway to the Louvre and official

It reaches a height of 20.6 m and a square base is 35m from the side.
Their faces are covered by 603 pieces of As Michael Flynn

Pei wanted the glass to be “super-clear”—so if you peered through it, the glass wouldn’t
“alter your perception of the color of the existing buildings.” Clear glass doesn’t sound like a
tall order, but at the time, most glass used in buildings had a greenish tint
Designing the framework was no less laborious. Pei wanted to match the metal to the color
of the roofs of its surrounding buildings. As it turned out, those buildings sported11 shades
of gray—so, long conversations ensued about which hue to choose

The pyramid used as an entrance in the Louvre's courtyard has the exact same proportions as
theGreat Pyramid of Giza.

Ở đáy của nó, kim tự tháp rộng 116 feet và cao 70 feet. 95 tấn thép và 105 tấn nhôm hỗ trợ
kết cấu.
The main pyramid is accompanied bythree smaller ones. They have been positioned to create
light shafts for access to the museum’s collections.

Lastly, theinverted pyramidis the one visible from underground, when you use the Carrousel
entrance to the Louvre. In the proper sense, it is an upside down, suspended pyramid.

The glass panes of the pyramids are made up ofdiamonds and triangles. This mixture creates
the triangular form in irregular proportions, which creates the appearance of cut jewels.\
 ’’

The pyramid is the largest among others that were built to provide natural lighting and
ventilation to the underground buildings

A staircase leads from the lobby to the pyramid, built in concrete shuttering cream with pine
Oregon.
IV. CONCLUSION

 M. Pei’s reorganisation of the layout and addition of the Pyramid is a successful

intervention.
 It shows sensitivity-no conflict between the new work & the existing monument
 It is a celebration of the principles of modern architecture
 Social acceptance of intervention-Pyramid itself a popular work in the Louvre after
Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo statue and more than two-thirds of visitors insist on
entering through the pyramid, avoiding other two less-crowded entrances.