The French architect and urban planner Dominique Perrault has completed an extension to the Dufour wing at the Palace of Versailles. This was an addition to the existing structure, and the goal is to facilitate and simplify the visitor entrance via a single access point. This results in two new public spaces, as well as a large staircase leading to the gardens.
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Visitors begin and end their journey in the Palace in the reception area and the marble staircase alongside its golden prism: the two new spaces are thus connected like the clasp on a necklace.
Golden metallic structures highlight the scheme’s contemporary character. An elegant detail in this architectural intervention. We can say that, in this case, and once again, Perrault’s minimalist sensibility comfortably meld environment, culture, and utility.
The project’s focal point is a gold-colored glass corridor that brings natural light into the new subterranean space. Acting like a large prism, glass panels reveal the façades of the old wing and the connecting wide marble staircase.
The Alain Ducasse restaurant and adjoining tea rooms now welcome visitors. There is also a bar area highlighted with brass accents.
The building that was first built by Louis XIII in 1623 as a hunting lodge of brick and stone, is still one of the spots that attract more visitors in France, because of its beautiful architecture and history. This intervention made the overall design even better.
Leading figure of French architecture, Dominique Perrault is world known for the design of the French National Library, distinguished with the Silver medal for town planning in 1992 and the Mies van der Rohe Prize in 1996. In 2010 he was awarded the gold medal by the French Academy of Architecture for all his work.
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