In June 1993, a rivet fell from the glass roof, a startling warning that the structural steel frame that supported it was in poor shape. As a precautionary measure, the Nave was closed in November 1993. After a number of engineering surveys, refurbishment work began in October 2001, the building as a whole having been listed as a historic monument in 2000. The Grand Palais was saved!
The Genius of Industry awaiting a facelift. © ÉMOC, cliché Patrick Tourneboeuf
In June 1993, during the exhibition Design, miroir du siècle, a rivet from the steel roof framework fell at the feet of a visitor on a snuffbox displayed by designer Jean-Paul Gaultier. As an emergency measure, safety netting was hung below the glass roof, but in November it was decided that the Nave would have to close.
Though matters only came to a head in 1993, the Grand Palais had already shown signs of fatigue. Substantial consolidation work had already been conducted between 1940 and 1943 but because the level of the Paris groundwater had fallen, the foundations were now in an alarming condition. During the Liberation of Paris at the end of WWII, a fire had destroyed the metal in the attic and twisted the pillars of the Nave.
In 2000, after a series of engineering surveys, the decision was taken to start the refurbishment work. When the Grand Palais was listed as a historic monument in the month of November the State was able to fund a vast project to reconstruct the Nave. EMOC, a public works body specialised in heritage buildings was responsible for the reconstruction under the guidance of Alain-Charles Perrot, chief architect for historic monuments, and Jean-Loup Roubert, architect and curator of the Grand Palais. The work would be executed in two phases:
- From 2001 to 2004: consolidation of the foundations, repairs of the metal structure in the Nave and the glass roof, repair of the roofing, restoration of Récipon's quadrigas.
- From 2005 to 2008: restoration of the facades.
Though matters only came to a head in 1993, the Grand Palais had already shown signs of fatigue. Substantial consolidation work had already been conducted between 1940 and 1943 but because the level of the Paris groundwater had fallen, the foundations were now in an alarming condition. During the Liberation of Paris at the end of WWII, a fire had destroyed the metal in the attic and twisted the pillars of the Nave.
In 2000, after a series of engineering surveys, the decision was taken to start the refurbishment work. When the Grand Palais was listed as a historic monument in the month of November the State was able to fund a vast project to reconstruct the Nave. EMOC, a public works body specialised in heritage buildings was responsible for the reconstruction under the guidance of Alain-Charles Perrot, chief architect for historic monuments, and Jean-Loup Roubert, architect and curator of the Grand Palais. The work would be executed in two phases:
- From 2001 to 2004: consolidation of the foundations, repairs of the metal structure in the Nave and the glass roof, repair of the roofing, restoration of Récipon's quadrigas.
- From 2005 to 2008: restoration of the facades.
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