Pei's Pyramids
Pei, I. M.
Download1A1-PI-PL-A6_cp.jpg (494.4Kb)
Alternative Titles
Pyramide du Louvre
Entrance to the Louvre
Date
1989Description
View of the entrance, depicting the sign "MUSEE DU LOUVRE"; Of all the Grands Projets in Paris, none created such a stir as the Pei Pyramids in the courtyard of the famous Louvre Museum. Spectacular in concept and form, they provide a startling reminder of the audacious ability of modern architects to invigorate and re-circulate traditional architectural forms...The main Pyramid is basically a complex inter-linked steel structure sheathed in reflective glass. In fact it is an entrance doorway providing a long-overdue entrance portico to the main galleries of the Louvre. As one descends into the interior entrance foyer, the dramatic nature of the intervention becomes apparent. The main Pyramid, which certainly disturbs the balance of the old Louvre courtyard, is countered by two smaller pyramids, which provide further light and ventilation to the subterranean spaces. p. 407 Source: Sharp, Dennis; Twentieth century architecture : a visual history, London: Lund Humphries, 1991 (0853315981) (accessed 1/8/2008)
Type of Work
pyramidal roof; lobbySubject
architectural exteriors, Pyramids, Modernist
Rights
Rights Statement
Licensed for educational and research use by the MIT community only