For the first time ever, the building will be open during the summer, as well as for longer periods of the day, so people can experience the light changing under the glass roof. “We want to work with the sun,” says Fusillier. “We can see the sunrise and we can see the sunset at the Grand Palais, because we are right under the sky.”
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That these programmatic transformations were at all possible is due, in large part, to the building’s architectural transformation, led by French studio Chatillon Architectes. Much of the building’s exterior, including its intricate sculptures and friezes—the only polychrome features on the facade—was restored in various phases over the past two decades. Few of these transformations will be visible to the naked eye, but the architects performed various “surgeries.” They spent 18 months, for instance, replacing the frigid concrete floor inside the Nave with a heated one. They added 48 elevators to improve accessibility, built 20 staircases to allow access to the upper levels, increasing overall capacity by 60% from 5,600 people to 9,000.
The most significant transformation, however, is definitely visible, and can be found in the heart of the building, where the architects have carved out a sort of “indoor plaza” that will let anyone enter the building—and for the first time in decades—look up at the Nave and its famous glass roof without having to buy a ticket.
The Grand Palais technically consists of three separate buildings—the Nave, the Galeries Nationales, and the Palais de la Découverte—that were each created by a different architect, and then walled off from one another. (Only the Nave will be reopening this summer; the rest will follow suit in 2025.) By carving out this indoor plaza—a gesture that lead architect Francois Chatillon considers an “obvious” move—the team have created a more cohesive visitor experience, and unified the building into a veritable “grand” palace.
In 2025, the Grand Palais will also welcome various exhibits from the Centre Pompidou, while the postmodern icon undergoes its own renovation for an estimated five years. A show featuring the work of Jean Tinguely and Niki de Saint Phalle, known for their whimsical kinetic sculptures, will open in June 2025.
But for now, this grande dame is ready to throw her doors wide open, fill up her social calendar, and bask in the glare of flashbulbs once again.
