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Café Mollien

With a delicate intervention using brass, marble, wood, fabric and acrylics, Mathieu Lehanneur redesigned the Louvre’s historical cafè that faces the Tuileries Gardens.

Redesigned by Mathieu Lehanneur, the Café Mollien located in the Denon Wing of the Louvre Museum reopens its doors after a one-month closure. The Café is a new venue linking the Carrousel and the Tuileries Gardens with the Louvre and its collection of masterpieces. In a monumental setting of 150 square meters, with vertiginous ceilings and marble tiled floor punctuated by massive columns, the designer has created a prestigious cafe on a human scale.

Café Mollien comprises an L-shaped dining room and a 230 square meters terrace offering the best view of the Louvre Pyramid. Inside, 66 seats are arranged around a brushed-brass, acrylic lighting structure, with organic-like extensions stretching up to 4.5 meters high. Described as “three, large pale-pink eggs” the luminous and translucent floating lamps fulfill the space and act as a visual signal.

In the alcoves of the tall historic windows, the presence of lacquered wooden benches upholstered in fabric alongside matte white furniture accentuates the rhythm of the space. The white of the furniture is also echoed in the marble of the ten meter-long bar at the entrance.

Mathieu Lehanneur, Café Mollien, Louvre Museum, 2016

Mathieu Lehanneur, Café Mollien, Louvre Museum, 2016

Mathieu Lehanneur, Café Mollien, Louvre Museum, 2016

Café Mollien, Louvre Museum, Paris
Program: renovation
Design: Mathieu Lehanneur
Client: Elior Group
Indoor area: 150 sqm
Terrace area: 230 sqm
Completion: 2016

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Café Mollien

With a delicate intervention using brass, marble, wood, fabric and acrylics, Mathieu Lehanneur redesigned the Louvre’s historical cafè that faces the Tuileries Gardens.

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