The Château de Versailles, classified 30 years ago as a world heritage site and located some 20km southwest of Paris, is one of the treasures of European art and history. Constructed as a simple hunting lodge by King Louis XIII in 1624, it has been successively enlarged to become a renowned palace. To understand the palace’s evolution throughout time, the Château de Versailles, in partnership with Google, decided to create a gallery dedicated to the palace’s history. The palace’s “Galerie de l’Histoire” project (“History Gallery”) was won by Projectiles studio within a contest organized between February and April 2010.
The Palace History Gallery has been developed along 700 square meters, composed by a succession of rooms along the north wing. A series of eleven rooms chronologically present the construction history of the Palace and, in parallel, evoke images of the Bourbon reign.
The interiors of the gallery are defined by a three part system. One part explains the history and protects the artworks. The XIX century paneling by Louis Philippe are conserved but totally repainted, and they support contemporary luminous extrusions made in DuPont Corian hi-tech surface. Another area provides a backdrop for paintings. The traditional tapestry wall covering is replaced by a specific and contemporary skin in DuPont Corian. The final part of the three tiered system controls the light. A monolithic “chandelier” made of DuPont Corian is suspended in the center of the room.
The lower paneling of the palace rooms present ornamental features that the project highlights. Rectangular volumes, at the center of the almost bicentennial geometric pattern, have been made in DuPont Corian with a backlit surface on which historical explanations are written. The extrusions are also used to create a natural barrier between the visitor and the art work. In order to precisely match the outline of the Louis Philippe paneling, each extrusion has been made with different volumes.
The walls have been clad with an engraved skin in DuPont Corian high-tech surface: each room having its own specific pattern corresponding to a different historical period. Patterns have been discreetly re-interpreted in order to create a kind of continuous wall painting. The graphic interpretation has been realized by Change Is Good graphic studio. The decoration has been engraved into the uppermost area of the walls, with varying graduation of depth until the graphic disappears as it progresses downwards. A specific tool has been used to obtain the desired look and the disappearing effect is created by acting both on the depth and the width of the engraving. Progressively lightening the engraving intensity, the cone-shaped point leaves a mark that is both shallower and narrower. This new engraving technique allows excellent precision. The inconvenience is the process slowness: one linear meter of the wall engraved in half a day, four months without break to engrave the whole skin.
The wall panels in DuPont Corian have an eight millimeters thickness. They are laid on an aluminum structure fixed on the palace walls. The panels have a maximum dimension of 1 meter x 2 meter, which have been factory-worked and engraved, and assembled on-site. The panels have then been glued and polished to obtain a seamless, continuous surface on every wall. The glue is derived from the same material.
An ensemble of lighting is hung in each room. Blocks made out of engraved DuPont Corian are suspended volumes emphasizing the architectural aspect of the project. Their dimensions, that vary the space perception of each room, have been carefully calculated according to the dimensions of the major art work displayed in each room. The volume’s massive silhouette contrasts strongly with the feeling of lightness conferred from its suspension and with the delicate lighting diffused from beneath. These micro architectural structures partially hide, in the upper part near the ceiling, the spotlights needed to illuminate the paintings and the ceiling. They also integrate the video-projectors in the multimedia rooms.
These suspended lighting solutions are in part movable. The lower areas are backlit and project a diffused light on the pedestals and windows below. The interior parts are retractable.
All of the lighting is integrated into these illuminated bodies. Composed of various grades of colour, they can be completely controlled using a digital console by Philippe Collet, the lighting designer. At the periphery, the paintings are highlighted with a warm light, while the ceiling is immersed in a cold light reminiscent of day light. This differentiation in colour grade and temperature underscores the interior landscapes.
The photovoltaic cells discreetly integrates along the facade, the artificial lights adapts to the natural light variations entering the space through the large windows overlooking the garden, keeping a constant level of illumination throughout the day. Thee curtains used on the windows are UV protected sun screens made in the same colour and tones as those used for the panels in DuPont Corian.
The fabrication and installation of the elements in DuPont Corian have been performed by the French company Créa Diffusion.
