The project of restoration and redesign of the Grand Palais affords the chance to reinforce the aspiration of the Grand Palais to be a “culture machine,” a spatial means for hosting a vast diversity of events and audiences that exponentially exalts the site’s “universal” and “republican” vocation. Our credo for the New Grand Palais is to complete and strengthen its formal logic through interventions that return a sense of modernity to its whole, at the same time, respecting its traditional identity. The reevaluation of the northern and southern makes the middle building the fundamental concern of the intervention. The pure geometry of the rediscovered circle creates a new symbol and marker at the urban level for the entrance on the Square Jean Perrin. It is an open square where two ramps guide the visitors from the level of the square to an underground level. By creating a progressive transition from the urban space to the galleries, the ‘Grand Avenue of the Palaces’ organize the different entrance phases in a clear sequence before leading the public to the various activities offered; it becomes the connecting platform for all exhibitions. It is a majestic, open volume with multiple levels. Emphasizing the original east-west axis of the composition, it will allow the public to embrace the Grand Nave and the rotunda of the Palais d’Antin at the same time. Starting from the “déambulatoire” a circular parcours crosses the Grand Palais promoting its architecture; it continues along the rooftop of the Grand Palais, and provides unobstructed, totally new vistas of Paris. The neighborhood of the Palais de la Découverte, the Grand Nave and the galleries offer a plural approach of the culture, stimulating the public. The integration of the innovative museographic concepts into the National Galleries furnishes diverse situations, enabling to host works which were not really visible until now. Besides bringing the entire building to current codes and the augmentation of the gauge, the technical work aims to not only simply manage current logistic needs, but to anticipate their future evolutions. The five main design values found in the sustainable parts of the intervention includes: Effectiveness, Sobriety, Strengthening Cultural Heritage, Minimal and Passive Intervention, and Remaining at the Service of Users.
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