Snøhetta launches Le Monde HQ Sketchbooks

An artistic perspective on architecture and urban transformation

To celebrate the fifth anniversary of Le Monde's headquarters in Paris, Snøhetta has released the Le Monde HQ Sketchbooks, an artistic documentation of the building's construction by French artist Frédéric Chaume.

Between 2017 and 2020, Chaume visited the site over 250 times, capturing the building's evolution through a series of hand-drawn sketches and engravings. His work offers a unique, artistic perspective on the construction process, highlighting moments rich in human activity and urban transformation.

The book features a curated selection of 232 artworks and was designed and published by Snøhetta Books to commemorate the building's milestone. It reflects the vision of Le Monde's chairman of the board, Pierre Bergé, who emphasized the importance of preserving the project's cultural legacy beyond mere technical documentation.

Designed by Snøhetta in collaboration with SRA Architectes, the headquarters was completed in 2020 and united 1,600 employees of the Le Monde Group. The building's arch-shaped structure, open public plaza, and semi-transparent façade embody a commitment to openness and civic engagement.

Chaume's artistic process unfolded in two phases: on-site sketching using black chalk, charcoal, and watercolor, followed by studio work involving copper engravings and detailed drawings. Final prints were produced in collaboration with Les Ateliers Moret, a renowned Parisian intaglio workshop.

The book is enriched by poems from Lamiya Shirvanzada, an introduction by Snøhetta co-founder Kjetil Trædal Thorsen, and essays by architect and historian Jean-Louis Cohen and Aedes Architecture Forum director Kristin Feireiss, offering deeper insight into the project's artistic and architectural significance.

Le Monde HQ Sketchbooks stands as a testament to the power of art in preserving architectural heritage and invites readers to experience the poetic dialogue between space, time, and human endeavor.

Frédéric Chaume’s drawings, created day by day—spring, summer, autumn, winter—offer more than documentation; they are perceptions of moments and an artistic interpretation of the building before it’s born. This analog process mirrors the construction itself, revealing the emotional and evolving layers of architecture in a way photography simply can’t.

Kjetil Trædal Thorsen
Founding Partner and Architect, Snøhetta

The book is on sale in France through Boutique Le Monde (from 15 September), and in Norway and Scandinavia through retailers such as Adlibris and Ark.

Visit Snøhetta's website for more information

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Le Monde HQ Sketchbooks

Between 2017 and 2020, French artist Frédéric Chaume visited the construction site of the new Le Monde headquarters in Paris over 250 times, documenting the building's transformation from a unique artistic perspective. His work captures the many phases of construction, highlighting moments rich i...

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Contacts

Line Aandal Røijen

Group Content and Editorial Lead, Snøhetta

Camille Henry

Communication Manager, Snøhetta Paris

About Snøhetta

For almost 40 years, Snøhetta has designed some of the world’s most notable public and cultural projects. Snøhetta kick-started its career in 1989 with the competition-winning entry for the new library of Alexandria, Egypt. This was later followed by the commission for the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet in Oslo, and the National September 11 Memorial Museum Pavilion at the World Trade Center in New York City, among many others.

Since its inception, the practice has maintained its original transdisciplinary approach, and often integrates a combination of architecture, landscape architecture, interior architecture, product design and art across its projects. The collaborative nature between Snøhetta's different disciplines is an essential driving force of the practice.

Today, Snøhetta has a global presence, with studios in seven locations spanning from Oslo to Paris, Innsbruck, New York, Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and Melbourne.

Snøhetta is currently working on a wide range of international projects, including the Shanghai Grand Opera House, the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Dakota, Harbourside redevelopment in Sydney and La Croisette in Cannes, to name a few.

Recently completed works include Vertikal Nydalen in Oslo, Beijing City Library, the renovation of Musée national de la Marine in Paris, Orionis - the planetarium and observatory of Douai, Airside in Hong Kong, Esbjerg Maritime Center in Denmark, 550 Madison Garden and Revitalization in New York, as well as Volum lamps for Lodes.

Some of Snøhetta's previous projects include Ordrupgaard Art Museum expansion in Denmark, the Cornell University Executive Education Center and Hotel in New York City, Le Monde Group Headquarters in Paris, including the wayfinding and signage, Europe’s first underwater restaurant, Under, the redesign of the public space in Times Square, the expansion to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Lascaux IV: The International Centre for Cave Art, Powerhouse Brattørkaia and design for Norway’s new banknotes.

Snøhetta’s working method simultaneously explores traditional handicraft and cutting-edge digital technology. At the heart of all Snøhetta’s work lies a commitment to social and environmental sustainability, shaping the built environment and design in the service of humanism. Every project is designed with strong, meaningful concepts in mind – concepts that can translate the ethos of its users and their context.

Among many recognitions, Snøhetta has been awarded the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award for the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet, and the Aga Kahn Prize for Architecture for the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. In 2016, Snøhetta was named Wall Street Journal Magazine's Architecture Innovator of the Year, and the practice has been named one of the world’s most innovative companies by Fast Company two years in a row. In 2020, Snøhetta was awarded the National Design Award for Architecture, bestowed by Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. In 2021 and 2022, Snøhetta’s Forite tiles won the Sustainable Design of the Year by Dezeen and Best Domestic Design by Wallpaper* in 2022, and the wayfinding system for Le Monde Group Headquarters was acknowledged with Monocle Design Awards. In 2023, Snøhetta won a number of awards for the Esbjerg Maritime Center and was named Architects of the Year at the Monocle Design Awards, in 2024 included a number of awards to Beijing Library and the BIA 2024 Award to Snøhetta and in 2025, Snøhetta was recognized with the OPAL Special Award for Sustainability, among others.

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