Grand’Salle

Hyo Ryu, Gloria Sandoval, Lily Murphy and Linton Wang

 

In the late thirteenth century, Philip IV of France commissioned the Grand Salle. The Grand Salle is a two-story parliament in Rayonnant style, and part of Palais de la Cite in Ile de la Cite. During the pre-reconstruction research of the Grand Salle, it was discovered that the structure was architecturally similar to that of the Sainte Chapelle, directed by Louis IX, Philip’s
grandfather.

A significant factor to the reconstruction of the Grand Salle was gesamtkunstwerk, which means, “Total work of art”. Since the building was of royal commission, it is implied that Philip IV had an abundance of resources and everything from planning to construction was precisely carried out. Therefore, during the digital reconstruction, this fact was taken into consideration whenever a conflict arose due to lack of references and helped the team arrive to a consensus of how to solve the issue. The conclusion for most conflicts was to always revert back to choosing symmetry over asymmetry which most closely resembled the aesthetic of the Grand Salle.