projects
Refurbishment of the Pavilion Dufour -...26 | 09 | 2016
the pavilion Dufour is now fully opened
Dominique Perrault completes the Pavilion Dufour at the Château de Versailles; Alain Ducasse's new restaurant, Ore, and the audfitorium are now open to the public.
Officially inaugurated
last June by French President François Hollande, the Pavilion Dufour is now
completed. Monday morning, during a press conference, Catherine Pégard,
President of the Château de Versailles, said: “Dominique Perrault offers to
Versailles all the comfort and the services of a great contemporary museum
while preserving the Palace’s heritage”.
Combining restoration,
renovation and contemporary intervention, Dominique Perrault’s created a new
entrance to the Château, a reception gallery in the Pavilion
Dufour, as well as an exit - a large new outdoor staircase in
the Courtyard, along the Old Wing. He also realized in the former Cisterns
underneath the Princes Courtyard a new shop and services areas, and
recently completed: Alain Ducasse’s new restaurant of 120
seats (second floor), and an auditorium of 150 seats (third
floor).
The new definition of
the Pavilion Dufour and the Old Wing is 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.
Alain Ducasse’s
restaurant, Ore, is located in a string
of rooms on the second floor of the Pavilion Dufour and the Old Wing. 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 was 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. This homogeneous treatment, prescribed by
Chief Architect in charge of Historical Monuments Frédéric Didier, bears the
added bonus of honoring traditional usages.
The bar area tying the
two spaces together has a mysterious atmosphere created by metallic
onyx-colored mirroring and vertical light tubes.
The auditorium nestles under the mansard roof of the
attic, where the existing dormer windows shine like lightboxes on the
wood-sheathed roof break. Thanks to the wide splays surrounding them, the
daylight coming in is tinged with gold.
Dominique Perrault said:
“At the Pavilion Dufour, we have achieved a work of revelation. The dialogue
between patrimonial and contemporary architectures is ambitious and requests
patience, gentleness and sensitivity. With the respectful work completed by Gaëlle
Lauriot-Prévost and I, the Palace's heritage is preserved and Versailles'
history goes on.”
Pavilion Dufour
The construction site
EN RELATION
