Page 220 - Livre Beau Rivage Palace

the north side to reach it (fig. 4). Whereas in many hotels, the rear two side pavilions but no central one, as would be the norm (and character; although it should be said that until recently, very few designed by the architectural student Charles-Louis Girault
courtyard is used for outhouses and generally receives little attention, as is found, for example, in the Beau-Rivage building itself); the have tried to understand and appreciate it. 32 for the Achille Leclère competition of 1878, which was widely
here the space is well kept and attractive, with landscaped gardens central pavilion is replaced by a narrow central bay in the form Stepping back, the front view of the facade encourages us copied by students at the end of the nineteenth century, notably
and fountains to keep the pathway to the entrance shady and cool. of a bay window, which is not at all monumental, and deflects the to look at its context, which is the lakeside and Alpine landscape. by Jost himself. The sculpted figures surrounding the oculi of
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The monumental Palace facades looking out over this green expanse attention back onto the side pavilions. The design is characterised The architecture literally faces the panorama full on, making it a the dome were also of Parisian origin, less exuberant descendants
have also been thoughtfully designed, with varying types of windows, by an almost sinuous modulation of the wall’s surface, articulated giant viewing gallery and suggesting to those not lucky enough of Carpeaux’s Paris Opera nymphs. We must move on from these
pediments, etc. The wing, which contains the public rooms, is a by the side projections and the three bay windows at the centre to be there that what is important lies elsewhere – opposite, in opera deperdita to focus on the heart (or belly) of the hotel: the
study of quiet composure, and demands particular attention because of each of the building sections. Following the post-Haussmann fact. Once again, a Manichean perception of the relationship to dining room and the hall.
of its large, arched bay windows whose bevelled panes refract the architectural aesthetic popular at the time, the facade is livelier nature predominates: in its interplay of contrasts, the grandiose Continuing on the journey we interrupted on the threshold
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stained-glass dome and the chandelier hanging within. Outside, in its upper parts: the individual balconies become continuous, the architecture of the Palace reminds us that without the natural of the main entrance to the Beau-Rivage, and crossing the
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sunlight plays on the foliage, while inside, it is possible to glimpse difference in levels between the pavilion cornices and those of the world which encases it (notably the wooded grounds) and frames vertiginous atrium of 1861 (redecorated in 1909) to reach the
the elegant lights of a room whose architecture and decor appear to central wing simulate the effect of perspective, the garret windows it (in the pictorial sense of the word), the building itself would new part, we pass decorations and spaces of a quality unequalled
be of exceptional quality: the path to the hotel assumes an almost decrease in size ending the decrescendo of openings which be meaningless. A variety of elements connect the Palace to its by the other hotels of the region. The two rooms, separated by
philosophical air, between nature and culture, between truth and moves upwards from the ground floor to the roof. The facade natural surroundings: the portico, terraces, stairs and balconies are a central corridor (connecting the accommodation wings and
artifice. The original Beau-Rivage building of 1861 is striking for thus finds an exceptionally clever balance between the vertical, all intermediaries which, being neither inside nor truly outside, saving guests from having to cross the dining room), represent the
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the simplicity of its facades, which guide the eye towards the main almost pyramid-shaped bays formed by the lower windows and allow the guests to enjoy the scenery, air and climate while never sum of Jost’s previous research on communal hotel areas. Whereas
entrance – our ultimate destination – a narrow passageway and a garret windows, and the discrete horizontal lines with their being more than a few steps from a decorative ‘landscape’ that tells before, he had often had to produce complex layout solutions for
threshold between the outer world and the interior, whose glimpsed syncopated rhythm. A variety of details combine to animate a completely different story. irregular spaces, here he was limited only by the width set by the
reflections have already aroused our curiosity. the facade, such as the subtle fracture in the line of the cornice two accommodation wings and the fixed height (equal to two
If we take a brief look at the south facade before entering created by the three garret windows of the side pavilions (the THE ‘GRAND APARTMENTS’: A MASTERPIECE storeys). The regular dimensions of the space allowed Jost to devise
the building, we notice a completely different style of architecture, central one being slightly wider and higher than its neighbours), The central part of the hotel contains the two most important a simple, clear floor plan based on a mathematical grid which
creating an entirely different effect. Seen from the Quai de a fracture which reduces the impact of the horizontal line at this public rooms, the hall and the dining room. These rooms can determined a longitudinal axis (the corridor) and a transversal
Belgique (built in 1901), the whole complex is considerably level and which emphasises the considerable difference in height readily be compared with the ceremonial ‘grand apartments’ of royal one (the central space of the dining room and hall). The remaining
more understated, and the focus of attention is no longer the old of the roofs; in the same way, the varying window forms (arched, palaces, and seem to have been the work, if not the masterpiece, of space was also an area of traffic, service and behind the scenes
Beau-Rivage building, which is barely visible through the trees rectangular, oval) break the inherent monotony of this genre of Eugène Jost and his partner Maurice Schnell. While the relatively which at once revealed and concealed. The prevailing theatrical
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in its grounds. grand composition. It is a great shame that this clever order has sober north facade is still visible today, sadly this is not the case with principle used by Jost to design these rooms makes perfect sense
Moving closer, the eye is drawn to the dome of the hall, both been upset by the recent creation of wide bays (using masonry the rotunda on the south side, now largely obscured by a circular here: the effect created by guests flowing in from either side (since
for its form and its elegant decoration; we will return to this subject bands) on the pavilion roofs, entirely at odds with the Beaux Arts veranda built in 1976; although the upper parts can still be seen, the guest rooms were situated in both the Palace and the Beau-
later. Walking away, however, we are most struck by the front view aesthetic of the building. Similarly, the modification of the central they lost their sculptural decoration on the same occasion. This Rivage buildings) must have been impressive, a thronging crowd
of the two accommodation wings, which create an almost solid garret window in the middle section of the building (originally is unfortunate: the original design orchestrated by the architects rather than a formal procession of people. Jost must certainly have
block, asymmetrical yet imposing, whose horizontal forms and punctuated by two small Italian Renaissance-style arched bays) was extremely rich in Renaissance and Baroque touches, and been thinking of the great French architectural set pieces of the
lines (windows aligned along running balconies, bands of masonry, has deprived the facade of a ‘heavier’ counterpoint to the lighter played with different techniques (architecture, sculpture, wrought era, particularly the Paris Opera (again), with its grand staircase,
cordons and cornices) are underlined by the quay and its stone lateral sections, a counterpoint which also served to balance the ironwork and woodwork) to achieve an elegance rarely matched dividing visitors on either side of the stairwell, making them at
wall, the garden railing and, to the west, the arcades surmounted effect of the lower bay window which was too open to act as a in Swiss hotel architecture of the period (figs. 5-9). There is no once spectators and participants in their own performance. The
by an entablature and a balustrade. The architectural composition central motif. The architecture of the Palace is elegant, then, if question that the architects made use of sketches brought back two rooms corresponded with each other along the length of the
of the Palace is unusual, as we have already pointed out: there are slightly disturbed by interventions that do not truly understand its from Paris: indeed, their project was very similar to the casino corridor with their five arched bays, three of which were situated

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