Versailles: The Latest Architecture and News

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The 2025 Versailles Biennale of Architecture and Landscape (BAP! 2025) brings together global thought leaders in architecture to discuss the critical role the discipline plays in addressing climate change, sustainability, and evolving urban needs. Through a series of in-depth interviews with curators, architects, and designers from Paris, Mexico City, and Spain, the event provides a platform for diverse perspectives on how architecture can respond to contemporary challenges.

Curators Sana Frini and Philippe Rahm lead the charge in presenting an exhibition that explores how architecture can adapt to the environmental shifts forecasted for the near future. From sustainable practices to integrating cultural contexts, the conversations captured in these interviews highlight innovative approaches to creating spaces that are not only functional but deeply responsive to the changing climate and societal needs.

Co-curators Sana Frini and Philippe Rahm have announced the participants of "4° Celsius entre toi et moi" (4° Celsius Between You and Me), an exhibition that will take place as part of the 3rd Île-de-France Architecture and Landscape Biennial, in Versailles, France, from May 7 to July 13, 2025.

The exhibition is based on the observation that France is expected to experience a temperature rise of +4°C by the year 2100. Its current temperate climate is projected to shift toward a subtropical one. In response, the exhibition turns to warmer latitudes for architectural models that can inform how to build today in France—and in other regions currently considered temperate—an architecture capable of withstanding this increase in heat.

The Biennale d'Architecture et de Paysage d'Île-de-France is the most significant architectural exhibition in France. For its third edition, Sana Frini, from the Mexican firm LOCUS, and Philippe Rahm, from the French firm PHILIPPE RAHM ARCHITECTES, have been selected as co-curators of the exhibition at the École Nationale Supérieure d'Architecture de Versailles. The exhibition will take place in the stables of the Château de Versailles from May 7 to July 13, 2025.

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The recent history of the city of Paris is entangled with that of the Olympic Games. In 1900, Paris hosted the second edition of the Games, starting a journey of urban adaptations and architectural developments that prepared the city for the event. Among the most important changes was the introduction of Line 1 of the metro, inaugurated in 1900 to link the locations of the Universal Exhibition with those of the Olympic Games in Vincennes. Just 24 years later, the city hosted one of the most influential editions of the Olympic Games. The event, the first to be broadcasted on the airwaves, contributed to a substantial rise in the popularity of the Games. It was also during this edition that the concept of the Olympic Village was born. Several of the infrastructures and venues built over a century ago are still in use in Paris, with some of them returning now as hosts of Olympic events.

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To take advantage of the historic heritage of the city of Paris while also minimizing the impact of the Olympics, the Paris 2024 Games are organizing a set of temporary arenas and installations to host several key competitions, only to be disassembled after the games' closing. Only one sports venue has been built specifically for the 2024 Olympic Games, the Aquatics Centre Paris, as the city aims to use its existing sporting infrastructure to the maximum, ensuring a smaller footprint compared to previous editions. In addition to the established venues, key temporary sites include the Trocadéro, Eiffel Tower, Champ-de-Mars, Esplanade des Invalides, Pont Alexandre III, Place de la Concorde, and Place de l’Hôtel de Ville, with additional stands along the Seine for the Opening Ceremony.

The assembly and disassembly of these temporary sites will follow a step-by-step approach to minimize disruption. Geographical phasing will preserve traffic lanes and access to public spaces, while time phasing will gradually activate and deactivate competition perimeters to limit construction impact and quickly restore spaces post-Games. These measures align with Paris 2024's commitment to organizing responsible and respectful Games and preserving the city's urban and natural heritage.

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As France prepares for the XXXIII Olympic Games, Paris plans to showcase its rich cultural legacy. The 2024 Olympics, which will begin on July 25, 2024, are set to be a momentous occasion for the city as it anticipates competitors and spectators worldwide. Embracing a “pioneering approach,” Paris 2024 aims to reimagine the Olympic experience by departing from the traditional stadium venues and “integrating sports into the fabric of the city.” From the iconic Grand Palais to the Eiffel Tower, the Gardens of Versailles, and the famous La Concorde, world-famous landmarks are set to host the 2024 games.

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A new application takes visitors into the virtual world of the Palace of Versailles. A first in the cultural scene, the VR application offers a detailed tour of the Royal Grand Apartments, the Chapel and the Opera amongst others. With photogrammetry, a 3-dimensional universe is reconstructed from 2D images of the 24 emblematic rooms of the palace.