One of President Mitterrand's "Grands Projets, the was part of a much-needed rationalization Pyramide of France's greatest museum. Since the early nineteenth century, the sprawling Palais du Louvre has housed the extensive highlights of the state collection of antiquities and fine and decorative arts. By the 1980s, the entrance spaces were inadequate for the yearly millions of visitors, endless corridors left tourists exhausted and lost, and the curatorial facilities were appalling. Digging out the larger courtyard gave a generous foyer, the wings ofthe museum were united, and space was created for facilities and shops. The appointment of I. M. Pei (b. 1917), a Chinese-born American, rather than a French architect was regarded shockin perhaps explaining why it was the only Grand Projet not to receive an architectural award.