Louvre Pyramid a thorough redesign, including better access to the pyramid and the Passage Richelieu. Louvre Pyramid The Louvre Pyramid (Pyramide du Louvre) is a large glass and metal pyramid designed by Chinese-American architect I.M. Pei, surrounded by three smaller pyramids, in the main courtyard (Cour Napoléon) of the Louvre Palace (Palais du Louvre) in Paris. The large pyramid serves as the main entrance to the Louvre Museum. Completed in 1989, it has become a landmark of the city of Paris. Commissioned by the President of France, François Mitterrand, in 1984, it was designed by the architect I. M. Pei. The structure,
Paris architecture of the Belle Époque a new station, the Gare d'Orsay, closer to the center of the city and to the Exposition. It was the first station designed to accommodate electric trains, and it was intended to contain a hotel as well as a train station; the hotel was placed where the museum entrance is today. The original design for the station called for a Renaissance style facade similar to that of Haussmann's buildings on the boulevards. The City of Paris wanted something more monumental to match the grandeur Louvre across the Seine, but also wanted it to clearly express its function as a train