The “New” Grand Palais by Chatillon Architectes

Paris has many beautiful heritage buildings here and there, and Le Grand Palais is one of them. The building, founded in 1900, is in the city center close to other landmarks such as Champs-Élysées and the Petit Palais. After being neglected for a long time, Le Grand Palais finally underwent a major restoration in 2021 up until now.

Le Grand Palais renovation (cr: Laurent Kronental)

Curved steel frame structure (cr: Laurent Kronental)

Chatillon Architectes, a French studio praised for its success in transforming existing structures, was entrusted to lead the first major renovation of Le Grand Palais since it was built more than a century ago. While working on this project, the studio explored thousands of archival plans and documents about the building to understand it truly. They mainly focused on increasing accessibility as, over time, this building was limited to the public and only became a “mere monument” that could only be enjoyed from a distance.

Grand staircase (cr: Laurent Kronental)

Exposed structure (cr: Laurent Kronental)

Chatillon enhances natural lighting, reconnects the building with the surrounding urban landscape, and prepares itself for the Olympics and future uses. The iconic curved glass-roofed atrium within this Beaux-arts architecture was prepared to host fencing and taekwondo at this year's summer Games. The open space is decorated with beautiful balconies and some of the first cantilevers recorded in history, all reinforced and restored.

The atrium where the Olympics take place (cr: Laurent Kronental)

The balconies (cr: Laurent Kronental)

Balcony’s structure (cr: Laurent Kronental)

The architects removed the ad-hoc walls and restored the view towards the Rotunda, which had not been seen since 1939. Although they made many changes, the studio also tried to preserve and embrace as much as possible the original structure designed by Henri Deglane, Albert Louvet, Albert Thomas, and Charles Girault. On the outside, the public garden has been newly designed with an irrigation system sourced from rainwater collected on the roof to water more than 60,000 plants.

Ornaments’ details (cr: Laurent Kronental)

The restoration is divided into two stages: the first is opened to the public ahead of the 2024 Olympics, while full completion is targeted to be in 2025 when the Centre Pompidou is expected to move its gallery collections here while undergoing its own renovation. The “new” Grand Palais will provide visitors a new and fresh perspective.