Location: Versailles, France.

Architect: Dominique Perrault Architecture.

The Château de Versailles has undergone a redevelopment of the Pavilion Dufour and the Old Wing, creating two new public spaces. The redevelopment has opened up new spaces on the ground level and created larger volumes on the garden level. The new reception area is entirely dedicated to enhancing visitor experience and starts in the Galerie des Lustres on the ground floor of the Old Wing. The loop begins and ends with the reception area and the marble staircase alongside its golden prism. The Pavilion Dufour and the Old Wing are revived on their upper levels as well as their foundations. The repurposing of spaces and of their interconnections is further enhanced by the subtle treatment of the interiors, with a focus on three key areas: flooring, ceiling, and chandeliers. Metal, the main material utilized, pulls the project into a coherent whole, while highlighting the contemporary character and strengthening the visibility of the intervention. The restaurant, located in a string of rooms on the second floor of the Pavilion Dufour and the Old Wing, is served by a special entrance on the garden level, in the South portico. Its furniture and chandeliers come in russet and metallic hues, matching the color scheme of the building. In the Pavilion Dufour, the structural intervention needed to level the floors was used as an opportunity to redesign the period rooms. A set of gilded geometric surfaces were applied to the doorways and door bases, giving the rooms a more contemporary look. In the Old Wing, the intervention took the more discreet form of a taupe tint, which was applied to the listed wood floors, paneling and woodwork.

Photo credit: André Morin/Dominique Perrault Architecture /Adagp.