Cité de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine

The name of this museum translates literally to "City of Architecture and Heritage".  It takes up one wing of the Palais de Chaillot.  Based on the name I wasn't quite sure what to expect but I had heard wonderful things about it so I went inside.  It turned out to be one of my favorite museums in Paris so far. It is comprised of three display areas: the Gallery of Casts, the Gallery of Modern & Contemporary Architecture, and the Gallery of Wall Paintings and Stained Glass.  I started my visit in the Gallery of Casts.

The High Gothic room

Each room contains a variety of casts and models.  The plaster casts are done to actual scale and showcase the key features of architecturally important buildings in France.

The tympanum from the Église Abbatiale Saint-Pierre in Moissac

The models show the entire building and usually have a cutaway so you can also see the interior.

Clockwise from left: cutaway and facade of the Abbey Church at Parlay-le-Monial, model of Notre Dame Cathedral in Laon

There were copies of other decorative elements as well, like these Pleurant (mourning) figurines -- the originals decorate the tombs of Phillipe le Hardi, Jean de Berry, and Philippe Pot.

Some of the sculptures tended toward the creepy and macabre, such as these two gargoyles and this decomposing skeleton statue.

The next room was also overflowing with casts and models.  In all, the museum has more than 350 casts, the oldest of which date to the 1880's.

Some of the models and casts are from buildings that no longer exist, like this model of the Minimes Abbey in Passy.  (This was the building that was once above the Wine Museum that I visited the other day).

And some of the models are of structures that have never existed, such as this plan for an opera house by Claude-Théophile Muly.  The director of the king's builders called the plans "unrealistic and unexecutable" at the time (1785), so it was never built.

Then it was upstairs to the Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Architecture.  Speaking of which, there was a pretty great view of a modern structure right out the window.

The gallery here lacked some of the "wow" factor of the exhibits below, since it was mostly small-scale models.  Although you can see in the back a full-scale replica of an apartment in Le Corbusier's "Radiant City" building in Marseilles (it is even furnished). 

A few of the more detailed models included the Crystal Palace from the 1851 Great Exhibition in London, the French Pavilion from the 1958 World's Fair in Brussels, one of the follies from the Parc de la Villette (which we visited last week), and this cross-section of the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées.

Other interesting displays showed the difference between Haussmann-era floorplans (note the lack of hallways), and newer 1900's-era plans.  I also liked these plaster mockups of Charles Garnier's house in Italy, the Castel d'Orgeval by Hector Guimard (famous for designing the Art Nouveau Metro entrances), and a strange bubble house by Antti Lovag.

Finally, it was upstairs to view the Gallery of Wall Paintings and Stained Glass.  Each room was a life-sized replication of a chapel or tomb somewhere in France.

The crypt from the Romanesque Church of Saint-Nicolas in Tavant

Adam and Eve fresco from the chapel at Château Dissay

The crowning achievement was the full-size replica of the painted dome from the cathedral at Cahors.

Eight prophets encircle the central scene which depicts the stoning of St. Stephen.

On my way out of the exhibits I passed this one last model of the Crac des Chevaliers, a castle built in Syria by the Crusaders from 1031 to 1170.  The real-life castle still exists and is mostly intact, one of the best preserved medieval castles in the world.

Crac des Chevaliers (it's only a model!)

The library and archives contain a comprehensive collection of research tools for historians.  And there is also a workshop, where artists work on the models and replicas used in the museum.

To my delight, there were also several classrooms for teaching schoolkids about the basics of architecture and construction techniques. My favorite is the corrugated cardboard castle.  Fun!