Chancellerie d'Orléans app for iPhone and iPad

The Chancellerie d’Orléans

In an extraordinary architectural rebirth, the stunning interiors of the Chancellerie d’Orléans—a celebrated 18th century Parisian townhouse—are about to be revealed once again after nearly a century in storage. This new virtual reality app makes it possible to experience the Chancellerie d’Orléans in a whole new way.

Located near the Louvre, the Chancellerie d’Orléans was designed around 1707 by Germain Boffrand and decorated by Antoine Coypel for Philippe II, a nephew of Louis XIV. The interiors were extravagantly renovated in the mid-18th century by Charles de Wailly, who incorporated the work of a number of leading artists of the day, including Pajou, Fragonard, Gouthière, Durameau, and Lagrenée. One of Europe’s most celebrated interiors, the Chancellerie d’Orléans drew fashionable visitors throughout the 18th century.

Despite the building’s artistic significance, the building was demolished in the early 1920s by its owner, the Banque de France—which, thankfully, dismantled and stored the interiors in 140 crates before demolition, with a promise to display them once again when a new home was found. The interior décor—including painted ceilings, sculpture, ornamental woodwork, marble columns, and fireplaces—remained in storage for the rest of the 20th century.

World Monuments Fund launched an effort to catalogue the remains of the Chancellerie d’Orléans in 2000, and helped the French government find a new location for the reconstructed interiors. Since then the WMF team has restored the precious components—from fireplace mantels to mirrors, light fixtures, murals, and sculptures—repairing cracks and chips and adding structural support where needed.

With the restoration phase almost complete, the components are now being prepared for reassembly and installation in the Hôtel de Rohan-Strasbourg in the Marais district, not far from their original home.

This Chancellerie d’Orléans virtual reality app offers a fascinating new way to experience an iconic 18th century Parisian townhouse, now rescued from oblivion.