The Grand Palais
Just as the Eiffel Tower was erected for the Exposition Universelle of 1889, the Grand Palais was built for the 1900 edition, to provide visitors with an exhibition site dedicated to the arts.
As organizer and host of the 1900 Exposition Universelle, France wanted to use this opportunity to underline her supremacy in the arts, industry and technology. The Grand Palais was also an integral part of an urban development plan to create an uninterrupted view from the Champs-Élysées to the Hôtel des Invalides.
Following a competition in 1896, three architects – Henri Deglane, Louis Louvet and Albert Thomas – were selected to work together on this large-scale project.
Charles Girault, appointed chief architect, coordinated the building work in parallel with his own work on the nearby Petit Palais.
The Grand Palais was built to a non-orthogonal H plan, dictated by the positioning of new roads. It was designed as a permanent structure, to be used after the Exposition Universelle as a multipurpose venue for concerts, equestrian events, art shows, etc.
Thanks to the use of innovative materials like reinforced concrete, and re-use of materials from the newly demolished Palais de l’Industrie (built for the 1855 Exposition Universelle), construction of the Grand Palais was completed in three years.
