mario bellini + rudy ricciotti: department of islamic arts at louvre

‘department of islamic arts at louvre’ by mario bellini + rudy ricciotti, paris, france
image © raffaele cipolleta
image courtesy of mario bellini architects

with its inauguration to the public this saturday, the louvre’s ‘department of islamic arts’ by milan-based studio mario bellini architect(s) and french practice rudy ricciotti is now complete in paris, france. the second contemporary intervention at the musée du louvre, marking 23 years after I.M. pei’s pyramid, this 6,800 square meter addition is contained by an undulating semi-transparent golden roof. hovering within the 18th century cour visconti, the foulard appears to be suspended inside the courtyard by the wind, never touching the pavement or historic facades.

appearing to be lighter than air, the canopy ranges in thickness from 20 centimeters to 1.20 meters and weighs a grand total of 120 tons.
each of the 2,400 triangulated glass panels measure 120x120x160 centimeters and are screened with an outer layer of brilliant gold and silver aluminum mesh, insulating glazing, welded tubular steel space frames, aluminum honeycomb panels to diffuse daylight into the galleries and a final golden layer which matches the outer shell along the ceiling plane. only eight slightly inclined pillars lift the waving form, reaching a maximum of 8 meters from the ground.

edges of the roof do not touch the ground or adjacent facades
image © philippe ruault
image courtesy of musée du louvre

aerial view of the undulating roof
image © antoine mongodin
image courtesy of musée du louvre

image © philippe ruault
image courtesy of musée du louvre

image © antoine mongodin
image courtesy of musée du louvre

image © philippe ruault
image courtesy of musée du louvre

roof edge
image © raffaele cipolleta
image courtesy of mario bellini architects

semi-transparent canopy diffuses dayliht into the gallery
image © raffaele cipolleta
image courtesy of mario bellini architects

two levels combine to form 6,800 square meters of gallery space
image courtesy of musée du louvre

60 glass vitrines contain the exhibit
image courtesy of musée du louvre

gallery
image courtesy of musée du louvre

only 8 slightly inclined columns lift the 120 ton canopy
image courtesy of musée du louvre

render
image courtesy of mario bellini and rudy ricciotti

section
image courtesy of mario bellini and rudy ricciotti

project info:

cost: 40 million EUR approx.: including the exhibition installation.
area of the cour visconti: 2,200 m2 approx. (55x40m)
total area of the work: 6,800 m2 approx.
exhibition area: 3,800 m2 approx.
large display cases: approx. 60 in crystal glass and of various sizes to house the 3 to 4 thousand items (exhibited in rotation)
of the precious collection of islamic art owned by the louvre, in terms of richness comparable to that of the metropolitan museum of new york
and the victoria and albert museum in london.