French President Francois Hollande, Minister of Culture Audrey Azoulay, President of the Château de Versailles Catherine Pégard and architect Dominique Perrault this morning inaugurated the Pavilion Dufour, a new entrance and reception and service space for visitors to the Château de Versailles.

Combining restoration, renovation and contemporary intervention, Dominique Perrault’s project was selected in 2011 and considered by the jury as the most consistent proposition. The architect chose not to build a new structure, which would have doubled the façade on the Cour des Princes (Princes Courtyard). Instead, he decided to create the necessary spaces by digging underneath the Palace and the Courtyard.
 
Dominique Perrault created a new entrance - a reception gallery in the Pavilion Dufour, as well as an exit - a large  new outdoor staircase in the Courtyard, along the Old Wing that leads to the gardens. This new circulation path creates a loop, just like in most of the world’s greatest museums. “By working “under the skin” of the buildings, the redevelopment offers a functional, sustainable and efficient solution while preserving the larger layout of the Palace and the outline of its wings“, said the architect.

This redevelopment, realized in close collaboration with Frédéric Didier, Chief Architect of Historical Monuments of the Palace, consisted in creating the following spaces: a reception gallery in the Pavilion Dufour and the Old Wing  for individual visitors only (ground floor), Chef Alain Ducasse’s new restaurant in the listed Salons (second floor), an auditorium of 150 seats (third floor). Finally, underneath the Princes Courtyard, the former Cisterns a new shop and services areas. All visitors (7.5 million individual and groups visitors per year) exit the Palace along the Old Wing through this new staircase : the “Perrault staircase”. Like a glass prism, this optical instrument, embedded in the Courtyard, brings comfort and natural light to those new spaces.

This new definition of the Pavilion Dufour and the Old Wing is further enhanced by the subtle contemporary treatment of the interiors developed by designer Gaëlle Lauriot-Prévost, with a focus on three key areas: flooring, ceiling, and chandeliers. By utilizing metal throughout the space, the new design creates a unified look while highlighting the contemporary nature and strengthening the visibility of the intervention. The floors of the reception gallery, for instance, are covered with a metal parquet whose slats, in places, repeat the renowned Versailles pattern. Light fixtures, all in amber or flamboyant tones, are affixed between the windows. Their curves and reverse curves are a harmonious nod to the broad gadroons formed by the covering hanging from the ceiling.  

“From the outside, nothing changes: Dominique Perrault's design fits into the architecture of his predecessors. And yet, he is the first one to have extended the Chateau de Versailles underground, in order to improve and simplify the visitors' experience.” Catherine Pégard, President of the Public Establishment of the Palace, Museum and National Estate of Versailles.


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Photos : André Morin/ Dominique Perrault Architecture/ ADAGP - Christian Milet/ Château de Versailles