Louvre selects architects for expansion, new Mona Lisa gallery

The Louvre museum in Paris has selected an international architectural team to lead a major expansion and renovation project intended to address overcrowding and aging infrastructure. The museum announced on Monday that the project, known as "Louvre New Renaissance," will be designed by STUDIOS Architecture Paris and Selldorf Architects, in collaboration with a landscape architecture firm.

The winning proposal, chosen from a shortlist of five candidates by a 21-member jury, includes two central components: a new dedicated gallery for Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and a second public entrance on the museum’s eastern facade. The Mona Lisa, which attracts approximately 20,000 visitors daily, will be housed in a new 33,000-square-foot space accessible with a separate ticket. The new entrance is intended to alleviate congestion at the main pyramid entrance, which was designed for four million annual visitors but now accommodates around nine million. Officials state the expansion could increase the museum’s capacity by up to three million visitors per year.

The project was first announced by French President Emmanuel Macron in early 2025 alongside the Louvre’s then-director, Laurence...