A masterpiece of French architecture

The sculptural decoration of the peristyle and its profiles is particularly ornate, including moulding around the windows, stone drapery of the consoles, band courses with leaf tracery, pilasters between windows, column fluting and finely worked Corinthian capitals. The ceiling of the balcony has sculpted coffers featuring symbols of the arts, architecture, music, industry, etc.

The façade of the Hôtel de la Marine and the peristyle in particular had suffered considerable damage over the years, from pollution, excavation of the metro and fighting during the liberation of Paris.

Previous repair work to the drums of the columns had left constellations of dark marks on each column shaft of the colonnade. The restoration work involved consolidating all the columns, their capitals and the structures they support by means of filling imperfections and reinserting stone having the same characteristics.

The coffered stone ceiling of the peristyle is held together by an ingenious system of iron ties and cramps prestressed by an arched covering of brick and stone. However, the cramp irons had rusted, cracking or spalling the stone décor, and the entire structure had settled.

 Restoration work

The work involved restoring the reinforced stonework to its original condition, replacing the roof slates and repairing the stone mouldings and sculptures.

In addition to restoring the sculptured features, innovative techniques were used to protect the iron ties after an expert assessment by the Historic Monuments Research Laboratory.

The peristyle roofing was designed very specifically and very carefully to protect the void above the stone bonding to prevent any infiltration into the ceilings. The gable walls and their brick-dressed vaults showed numerous cracks and missing elements that could ultimately have compromised the watertightness of the entire feature.
 

The restoration involved rebuilding certain gable walls and vaults. With the approval of the Scientific Advsiory Board, the roofs were covered with slate as had originally been the case. The balustrades were restored and covered with lead.

(Updated: April 2010)