Grand Palais de Paris: innovation in refurbishment techniques

摘要

Construction of the Grand Palais in Paris as a Beaux-Arts exhibition hall was started in 1897 by the architects Deglane, Louvet, Thomas and Girault for the 1900 World Exhibition. The architectural programme also included the Pont Alexandre Ⅲ and the Petit Palais. As early as 1898, it was decided to retain both of these monuments after the closure of the exhibition, with the Grand Palais intended for holding exhibitions and horse shows. Following floods in 1910, the building started to show signs of structural problems. Being built near the banks of the River Seine, its foundations were based on 3300 wooden piles, a practice commonly used at the time for waterlogged sites. However, the technique is only valid if the piles remain submerged, and flow management works on the river led to a drop in water levels. The piles were damaged, causing the building to sink by varying degrees between 10-12cm. In 1993, the alarm was raised by a rivet falling from the metal framework and this led to the building being closed and a rehabilitation process being undertaken. This was a complex task requiring real expertise.