GRAND PALAIS FINALLY REOPENS AFTER INCREDIBLE AND COSTLY RENOVATIONS
The Grand Palais, one of Paris' most cherished architectural wonders, closed on March 12, 2021. The century-old glass-and-steel palace was finally ready for its most extensive renovation to date, with the first phase finished last summer, just in time for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, when the main nave of the building was unveiled. After almost five years, the final phase of the €486 million (roughly $562 million) renovation is finally open to the public.
Under the direction of François Chatillon and his own firm, Chatillon Architectes, the restoration painstakingly blends the Grand Palais' historic charm with new, modern features. Originally built for the 1900 Universal Exposition, the structure is famous for its enormous windows, riveted steel columns, and distinctive glass nave. Chatillon took care to preserve its architectural integrity. By removing a partition wall that divided the front and rear of the building, the renovation actually increased the number of public areas by 140% without constructing any new buildings. This space features L'Atelier Senzu-designed fixtures and furniture, a boutique, a cafeteria on the mezzanine, and staggered seating.
Chatillon elaborated on the renovation, saying, “Space is the truest luxury. Luxury at its most pure is nature, like being alone in the mountains. In cities, we can create vast spaces that feel natural.”
The centre axis's newfound grandeur and airiness notwithstanding, the area still required modular design to support a variety of events, from haute fashion runways to art exhibits. Under the guidance of Studio MTX, a division of the fashion house's artisanal network, Le19M, Chanel created and manufactured a mobile curtain to accomplish this feeling of adaptability. The barrier, which is 49 feet across and 26 feet high, is divided into nine sections and has 70 decorative strips stitched along its sides. The curtain took 720 hours to complete in total, some of which were spent refining its green hue to blend in with the iron accents of the Grand Palais.
"To make sure [the curtain] blended in as much as possible with all the shades of green seen in the buildings, we conducted hundreds of colour tests with and without light," Studio MTX artistic director Mathieu Bassée told Women's Wear Daily. "In order to avoid obstructing the light from the nave, we also worked on the fabric's transparency."
In addition to this ingenious—and certainly elegant—solution, the rehabilitation included updating technological aspects, enhancing accessibility, and repairing the building's statuary, facades, and interior decoration.
Chatillon told Wallpaper that creativity is always a part of restoration. "Michelangelo using a block of marble is similar to my work. The final effort, the solutions, is already within. They must be released through restoration procedures."
