At upcoming Central Vista National Museum, plans for a glass dome inspired by the Louvre

The museum, expected to overtake the Louvre in Paris as the “largest museum in the world” once it’s ready, is a key part of the Central Vista Redevelopment Project. The glass dome is set to come up at a suitable point in the vicinity of the North and South Blocks, which currently house several key government offices, including the Prime Minister’s Office, and the Home, Defence and Finance Ministries.

“With a planned surface area of 155,000 sqm, the museum is among the largest ongoing museum projects globally. France was invited to share its expertise as exemplified in several outstanding projects such as the Grand Louvre, Louvre Abu Dhabi, and the Grand Palais,” an official from the French Embassy in New Delhi told The Indian Express.

The Louvre Pyramid in Paris, a large glass-and-metal entrance way that stands in the main courtyard of the Louvre Palace, came up in 1989 as part of the Grand Louvre project. The distinctive dome of the Louvre in Abu Dhabi, designed by architect Jean Nouvel and inaugurated in 2017, is known for its “rain of light” effect.

Sources said the dome at the Yuge Yugeen Bharat National Museum will blend with the theme of the museum: “5,000 years of Indian civilisation”.

In December last year, India and France signed an agreement on the “adaptive reuse” of the North and South Blocks – that is, the buildings would be repurposed for the museum project without demolishing them.

Sources said the Indian side wants to expedite the museum project. The project will be implemented in two phases — the first involves the retrofitting of North Block into a museum space, with an estimated deadline of June 2026.

Sources said the mapping of North Block has already been done in consultation with FMD and the building is expected to be free for retrofitting activities in three months. The plan is to get South Block too vacated this year. Sources said the PMO will be the first department to move out of South Block before the end of this year.

Officials said objects from the National Museum will be moved from their current location at Janpath only when the new building is ready to host them.

“The focus is now on finalising the content and exhibition design for the new project. The museum will be built as a single, coherent narrative and not separate fragmented galleries,” a source said.

Once North Block is vacated, the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) will restore the structure to its original state by removing all the additional walls, partitions and ceilings that came up over the decades. Records show North Block had around 400 rooms when the British inaugurated New Delhi in 1931, but over the years, partitions were added and the number of rooms doubled.