| i. m. pei / the grand louvre, paris ........................................................................................................................................................................................... | |||||||||||||
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| i. m. pei / the grand louvre, paris in 1983 i.m.pei was offered the 'grand louvre' project by the french government. 'one of my conditions prior to accepting the commission... was to see if there was something I could do... the louvre was built in parts successively since the 12th century, first as a donjon, then as a palace... the problem was how to make (it) into a modern museum. the louvre had lots of exhibition space... but was totally lacking in infrastructure... after three secret 'private' visits...I said to myself, 'yes, I am gong to try.' besides creating two large glass covered courtyards to house sculptures, pei's design also included the excavation of two other courtyards in order to create storage and infrastructure space. pei's pyramid design was very controversial and 'maybe 90% of the people of paris were opposed to it at the beginning', although now almost everyone loves it. in fact it is considered one of the landmarks of paris, together with the eiffel tower. 'the glass pyramid is a symbol that defines the entry to the louvre. it is placed precisely at the center of gravity of the three pavilions... it assumes the function of a symbolic entry to a huge complex of meandering interconnected buildings which had no center.' but why a pyramid? why not a cylinder or a cone? 'formally, it is the most compatible with the architecture of the louvre... it is also one of the most structurally stable of forms, which assures its transparency... as it is constructed of glass and steel, it signifies a break with the architectural traditions of the past. it is a work of our time.' (quotations from the book 'conversations with i.m. pei ' , all photos courtesy prestel verlag) this is 1 of 6 pages on i.m.pei, click on the icons to see more
see also --- http://www.GreatBuildings.com/buildings/Pyramide_du_Louvre.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/books/chap1/im_pei.htm |
 © serge hambourg  pyramide inversée © owen franken  plan, pyramide  plan, pyramide |
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