Le Monde HQ Sketchbook exhibition

To mark the fifth anniversary of Le Monde’s headquarters in Paris, Snøhetta presents a new exhibition and book offering a unique, artistic perspective on the building’s construction, as seen through the eyes of French artist Frédéric Chaume.

Between 2017 and 2020, Chaume visited the building site over 250 times, capturing its evolution in a series of expressive sketches and engravings. His work highlights moments rich in human activity and urban transformation, reflecting the vision of Le Monde’s late chairman, Pierre Bergé, who emphasized the importance of preserving the project’s cultural legacy beyond technical documentation.

Le Monde’s headquarters was Snøhetta’s first completed project in Paris, developed in collaboration with SRA Architectes.

The exhibition features Chaume’s original sketchbooks and prints, alongside a documentary film with interviews featuring Chaume, Le Monde CEO Louis Dreyfus, and Snøhetta co-founder Kjetil Trædal Thorsen. 

The exhibition continues in the basement gallery, expanding the story with models, drawings, the wayfinding system also designed by Snøhetta, photography, and interviews that offer deeper insight into the project. 

The space also showcases hundreds of models from other Snøhetta projects, highlighting our extensive archive.

Explore Chaume’s work further in the book Le Monde HQ Sketchbooks, featuring 232 curated artworks, poetry by Lamiya Shirvanzada, and essays by architect and historian Jean-Louis Cohen, Kristin Feireiss, director of Aedes Architecture Forum, and Kjetil Trædal Thorsen.