The design for the new satellite of the Louvre consists of gently curving pavilions that dovetail with the landscape – a 62-hectare former mining site – creating a “museum-park”.  The roof of the galleries is entirely glazed with a series of varied angled louvers. The ethereal quality of the façade – a single height of brushed aluminum alternating with clear glass – and the slight curvature of the pavilions will 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.

Gallery volumes are gently linked at their corners, allowing for a transversal experience of the rotating exhibits. The design reinforces the curatorial blueprint, effectively repealing the classic art departments that have defined – and confined – the collection over the last two centuries.

The Louvre-Lens museum will feature a “Gallery of Time,” designed by Imrey Culbert and SANAA. It will provide an example, in time line, of all the Louvre Museum’s collection. The Louvre-Lens will exhibit mostly artworks that are currently on display in Paris.

Imrey Culbert is the Co-Designer for the building design and Museographer for the project. The international completion was won by SANAA, Imrey Culbert and Mosbach Paysagistes with a large international design team. Client: the Region Nord-Pas-de-Calais in partnership with the Louvre Museum in Paris.

Engineers include Arup Lighting and Bollinger + Grohmann of Frankfurt. The building is under construction with expected completion by 2012.