Musée Louvre-Lens
Lens, France
2012
Our design, with Sanaa, for the Louvre’s satellite museum consists of gently curving pavilions that
seemingly merge with a 150 acre landscape, thus creating the "museum-park". The galleries are lit by a
continuous glass roof, co-designed with ARUP. The ethereal quality of the façade – a single height of
brushed aluminum alternating with clear glass – and the slight curvature of the pavilions create blurred
reflections of the surrounding landscape. This out-of-focus impression speaks to the new mission of
Louvre-Lens: to question reality and perception, to teach how to look at art anew.
The Louvre-Lens museum’s most unique space is the magnificent "Gallery of Time," designed by Imrey
Culbert and Sanaa and completed by AG Studio in Paris. Masterpieces of the Louvre Museum's collection
line up according to chronology in a single open space that is longer than a football field.
Links to Web Content:
Architectural Record
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Dezeen
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Archinect
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The SuperSlice
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Wikipedia
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Absolute Arts
Imrey Culbert is the Co-Designer for the building design and Museographer for the overall project. The international completion was won by SANAA, Imrey Culbert and Mosbach Paysagistes with a large international design team. The Client was the Region Nord-Pas-de-Calais in partnership with the Louvre Museum in Paris.
Design Architects: SANAA, Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa, Imrey Culbert, Celia Imrey, Tim Culbert.
Imrey Studio Project Team: Celia Imrey, Design Principal, Alexander Kim, Main Beck.
Engineers: Betom, Hubert Penicaud, B & G, Sasaki, Transplan, Avel Acoustique, Groupe Casso
Lighting: ARUP Lighting
Economist: Bureau Michel Forgue