Le Grand Palais, renovation by Chatillon Architectes – All photos by Laurent Kronental for Chatillon Architectes.
Architecture–The Grand Palais, one of the French capital’s most timeless monuments, was originally built as a temporary palace for the city’s Universal Exhibition in 1900. Over a century, the iconic building became the international showcase of the French cultural scene. Its major restoration by Chatillon Architectes is set to be unveiled for the Olympic and Paralympic Games and will be completed in 2025.
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“The opportunity to redevelop an icon is amazing, but the Grand Palais feels like so much more”, says François Chatillon, Founder of Chatillon Architectes. The studio drew on thousands of archival plans and documents to inform the ambitious project. “It’s the opportunity to return a permanent public use to the building, to redevelop the surrounding grounds, to connect the building back with the city, and to adapt it for the Olympics and future generations.”
Chatillon Architectes rethought public access by removing ad hoc walls and separations that had been installed over time. The renovation project reinstated the building’s original central axis, reconnecting the main nave with Palais de la Découverte and restoring a view from the Rotunda that had not been seen since 1939.
Newfound connections between the three main areas improved circulation, while new visitor services increased the overall public accessibility and capacity to accommodate 60% more event guests. Beautiful surrounding balconies featuring some of the earliest recorded cantilevers have also been reinforced and restored. They now become part of the visitor journey once again, offering fresh and new perspectives across the structure.
The Grand Palais is now reconnected with the historical cityscape and neighbouring landmarks such as the Champs-Elysées and the Petit Palais. The new public Grand Palais gardens surrounding the structure draw inspiration from the nearby Champs-Élysées gardens.
A wall of evergreen shrubs on Boulevard Churchill thrives alongside a wide variety of greenery, roses, perennials, and bulbs—250 species in total, with over 60,000 plants. Newly planted lawns will be irrigated by rainwater collected from the building’s roofs, and many of the new plants have been selected from the wild palette of the Paris basin to support pollination and local biodiversity.
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All photos by Laurent Kronental for Chatillon Architectes.
