He was on the verge of collapsing and letting his rich history hide under a heap of stone.
Finally, the Pavillon de la Muette, in the forest of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (Yvelines) is still standing.
Better, here it is in full restoration.
Within a big year, the royal residence should have regained all its luster and may even be open to the public.
This rescue in extremis, the building built at the request of Louis XV owes it to two patrons.
Two real estate professionals who explain that they fell in love with this forest pavilion which is nicknamed the Petit Trianon of Saint-Germain, so many similarities are with its sumptuous cousin from Versailles, also signed by the architect Ange-Jacques Gabriel.
Benoît D'Halluin and Emmanuel Basse are the two new owners of the premises.
LP / SB
Two men passionate about history and beautiful stones who, in their own words, have embarked on a “bottomless” project.
“We sometimes say to ourselves that we are seriously ill,” laughs Emmanuel Basse, one of the new owners.
A monument long abandoned to squatters
Two years ago, he and his partner Benoît d'Halluin bought the pavilion from Frédéric Journes, an individual who had bought it himself a few years earlier from the NFB.
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Unoccupied for several decades, the historic monument was left to the elements… and to squatters.
Overwhelmed by the task and by the importance of the financial means to be gathered, those who already wanted to revive the pavilion had to hand over to the tandem.
DR
Like every Friday, there is a summit meeting in the forest house located in the immediate vicinity of the monument.
While Benoît d'Halluin takes stock with the teams, Emmanuel Basse offers a tour of the owner.
Or rather a glimpse of this project, the scale of which we cannot imagine.
“The emergency was closed and covered,” he explains first.
It had to be put out of water because it was crumbling.
"
Beams and walls eaten away by dry rot
Behind the immense scaffolding surmounted by a marquee which serves as the pavilion's “umbrella”, everything is still “in its own juice”.
Once you have crossed the main door, you immediately enter the king's debotté, "where the king had his boots removed on his return from hunting".
DR / Elise Robaglia / Media Potion
On the ground, the black and white paving stone is original.
Some tiles are still in perfect condition, others have been damaged by the fall of the ceiling and one of the main beams.
“The first thing we had to do was support as much as possible,” says Emmanuel Basse.
Everything was on the verge of collapsing ”.
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On the walls, blue dots mark almost all the gaps.
They indicate the presence of dry rot, "a fungus that eats everything".
We begin to understand the heaviness of the work.
And that's only the beginning.
"We came here among men, far from the obligations of the court"
In the main room, the octagonal living room, the view is striking.
The one on the forest first.
By simply turning your head, you discover the forest paths which converge towards the windows.
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“The king could follow the hunt without moving.
A stroke of genius, ”says the owner.
Because hunting was indeed the only vocation of the lodge.
“We came here among men, far from the obligations of the court,” he explains.
Large woodwork adorns the huge room.
Like those which covered the walls of the king's debotté, they will be put down to be treated, restored and put back in place.
DR / Elise Robaglia / Media Potion
Upstairs, "we're going to completely reconstitute Napoleon's bedroom," explains Emmanuel Basse as he enters the room.
If he evokes the emperor, it is because the latter was also in love with the places where he liked to receive his second wife, Marie-Louise, whose bedroom is adjoining.
“To the point that in front of Moscow in flames, he wrote to give his orders about the pavilion
(Editor's note: he wanted to change the furniture)
.
We are trying to recover the facsimile of the letter ”.
From there, it is especially the frame that impresses.
The roof has been raised, the skeleton is bare.
But you still have to climb to see the craftsmen at work.
Merlin, a carpenter specializing in historic buildings, has been working at the top of the monument for several weeks.
And it will still take time.
Passionate specialists at work
Gradually, he "discovered the obsolescence of the wood", but also "the construction mode", readable only by the initiated thanks to a marking system on the beams.
On this “highly technical” site, the manager had to “proceed with transplants” but also “recreate the rafters”, while trying to keep the existing as much as possible.
It was a real challenge that was offered to specialized carpenters.
Elise Robaglia / Media Potion
Back on the cow floor, the visit ends with the kitchens, located in the basement.
Tags on the walls bear witness to a more recent page in the history of the monument, still used a short time ago as an underground party place in the middle of the woods.
The kitchen is the least degraded room in the pavilion.
LP / SB
"Overall, it is rather well preserved", notes Emmanuel Basse before delivering a new anecdote about the rotisserie, located behind the imposing fireplace which is completely reminiscent of that of the Petit Trianon: "We put it in place. end of the stairs because Louis XV hated the smell of grease.
Here again, it will be a question of refurbishing the basement, always with the same "concern for historicity".
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If the schedule is going normally, the roofing and the exterior walls, which will soon be attacked by the "stony", should be completed in early fall.
But this 4 million euro project - including state aid - will be far from over.
"There will be woodwork, floors, fireplaces, electricity, sanitary facilities ...", lists the co-owner, planning the finishes for "summer 2022".
The objective will then be to open it to the public, as an exhibition or concert venue.
The pavilion should also be available for private hire for receptions or weddings.
In royal version.
