Orsay

• Archive documents and photographs help tell the story of the building’s transformation

From palace to railway station, railway station to museum, this extraordinary site represents nearly three hundred years of architectural innovation alongside changing social functions. This fascinating pocket-sized book examines how the station’s metal framework was adapted over the years to house the celebrated Musee d’Orsay today. Both archival documents and photographs are included to evoke the building’s previous incarnations, while a wide range of contemporary photographs show its present form to full advantage. But Orsay is not simply an architectural tour – it is also the story of the people who contributed to the construction of the space, who transformed it and gave it life, be it as a palace, railway station or museum