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Tympanum

The Nave

Great Staircase: A superb illustration of Art nouveau, the monumental Great Staircase is an instant eye-catcher. Serving as a reception area and the prestigious entrance to the future VIP lounge, it alone illustrates the majesty of the Grand Palais.
Balconies: The fine, understated contour of the balconies that run all the way round the Nave conceals little-known reception and exhibition areas. Only when they have been fully restored will it be possible to access this exceptional viewpoint that takes in the whole of the Nave.
Wolrd time clock: The world time clock has presided over a century of events in the Grand Palais, and, as a work of impressive scale and history, must be restored to its former role in the Nave.
Tympanum: Imagining the interaction and resonance between contemporary creation and heritage. This will be the challenge for the contemporary artist restoring and decorating the tympanum in the Grand Palais.
Corner glass roofs: On either side of the great staircase, the skylight windows in the corners of the building provide warm and intimate reception areas, a welcome counterpoint to the immensity of the Nave. Once restored, these shafts of light will create an even more graphic impact.
Regulation of the temperature in the Nave: Designing a temperature regulation system to operate under the biggest glass roof in Europe, covering a total area of 13,500 m2 (145,000 sq. ft.) for a volume of 450,000 m³ (15,890,000 ft³) is a massive challenge!
Mosaics and glass floors: More than just a restoration, the task of reconstituting the mosaics with their soft colours, and the glass tiles that are so typical of the early 20th century is an invitation to rediscover the sumptuous life and times of the Belle Époque.

Building exterior

Main entrance: It is through the majestic main entrance on Avenue Winston-Churchill that more than one and a half visitors each year enter the Grand Palais.
The pots à feu on the roof and the great sculptures on the pediment: These ornaments and large groups of sculptures make a major contribution to the building's overall impression of splendour: Alfred Picard, commissioner of the 1900 Universal Exhibition, attached particular importance to these curiosities that have since been damaged by the passage of time or simply disappeared.
Illuminations: The design of new illuminations for both inside and outside the Nave is a major and ambitious project for the 21st century and an exciting challenge on the scale of the building itself.

New areas

The VIP Lounge: Centrepiece of the restoration project for the Grand Palais, the renovation of the VIP Lounge will enable businesses, patrons and the general public to discover this sumptuous area of 1,200 m2 (12,900 sq. ft.) located in the heart of the building.
The South-East Gallery: A new area with 700 m2 (7,500 sq. ft.) of floor space, the gallery will be able to host events such as exhibitions and fashion shows. Events here will be bathed in outstanding natural vertical light streaming down through the glass overhead.
The Fine Arts Staircase: A jewel in the Grand Palais' crown, the Fine Arts Staircase offers a warm and inviting reception area and an exclusive facility in which to welcome guests. Its discrete atmosphere is enhanced by a staircase that lends a magical sense of elevation as it leads upward to the balconies in the Nave.

See the media:Rouvrir ce passage permettrait d'accéder de nouveau au salon d'honneur.

Vue frontale du tympan, au sommet de l'escalier d'honneur. © Coll. Grand Palais, cliché François Tomasi

A majestic entrance in the heart of the Nave

A central architectural feature of the Grand Palais, the tympanum in the Nave embellishes the Great Staircase. Its decoration was not completed in time for the inauguration of the building in 1900. Since then, only a few short-lived decorations have been used to re-enliven this area.
The Grand Palais now intends to use stucco and paint to restore the tympanum to its former grandeur, as intended by the architects. The original drawings made for the decorations have been kept and can now be used to rehabilitate the bases of the columns and the columns, the mouldings and the paintwork in order to enhance this central feature of the great staircase.

Contemporary art at the heart of the Grand Palais

The EPGPCE seeks to associate contemporary artists with the renovation of the Grand Palais and will be commissioning works as from 2009. The aim will be to bring new life to this area and create an interaction between today's creations and the timeless quality of the great glass roof. A fabric will be stretched across part of the tympanum and will serve as a backdrop for paintings or video creations by guest artists.

Technical information

Work: restitution and reinterpretation of the staff (fibrous plasterwork), stucco and paintwork, opening of the door on to the VIP lounge
Schedule: 10 months' work

See the media:Reopening this passage would provide access to the VIP Lounge

Medias

Photo gallery

See the media:The 1897 design shows the decor originally intended

Tympanum

Contact

mecenat@rmngp.fr