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Auguste Perret
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{{short description|French architect}} {{Infobox architect | image = Auguste_Perret_architecte_1932.jpg | image_size = | caption = Portrait of Auguste Perret (1932) | nationality = French | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date|df=y|1874|02|12}} | birth_place = [[Ixelles]], Belgium | death_date = {{death date and age|df=y|1954|2|25|1874|2|12}} | death_place = [[Paris]], France | significant_buildings = [[Théâtre des Champs-Élysées]]<br />[[St. Joseph's Church, Le Havre]]<br />French Economic, Social and Environmental Council<br />[[Église Notre-Dame du Raincy]] | significant_projects = | awards = [[AIA Gold Medal]] (1952) }} '''Auguste Perret''' (12 February 1874 – 25 February 1954) was a French architect and a pioneer of the architectural use of reinforced [[concrete]]. His major works include the [[Théâtre des Champs-Élysées]], the first [[Art Deco]] building in Paris; the [[Église Notre-Dame du Raincy|Church of Notre-Dame du Raincy]] (1922–23); the [[Mobilier National]] in Paris (1937); and the [[French Economic, Social and Environmental Council]] building in Paris (1937–39). After World War II he designed a group of buildings in the centre of the port city of [[Le Havre]], including [[St. Joseph's Church, Le Havre]], to replace buildings destroyed by bombing during World War II. His reconstruction of the city is now a [[World Heritage Site]] for its exceptional urban planning and architecture.<ref name = "unesco">{{cite web |url = https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1181 |title = Le Havre, the City Rebuilt by Auguste Perret |website = UNESCO World Heritage Centre |publisher = United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization |access-date = 13 November 2021}}</ref> ==Early life and experiments (1874–1912)== Auguste Perret was born in [[Ixelles]], Belgium, where his father, a stonemason, had taken refuge after the [[Paris Commune]]. He received his early education in architecture in the family firm. He was accepted in the architecture course of the [[École des Beaux-Arts]] in Paris, along with his two brothers, Gustave (1876–1952) and Claude (1880–1960). where he studied under [[Julien Guadet]], a [[Fine art|Beaux Arts]] neoclassicist who had collaborated with [[Charles Garnier (architect)|Charles Garnier]] on the construction of the [[Palais Garnier|Paris Opera]]. Beyond the neoclassical rationalism he learned from Gaudet, Perret's particular interest was the structure of buildings and the use of new materials, such as concrete. Though he was considered a brilliant student, he left school without obtaining a diploma and went to work for the family firm. <ref name = "Robert1988">''Petit Robert Dictionnaire Universel des Noms Propres'' (1988)</ref> Perret immediately began experimenting with concrete. His first important project was an apartment building on rue Franklin in Paris (1903), where the concrete structure, instead of being concealed, was clearly visible and was a part of the exterior design. He made an even more radical experiment with the construction of a garage on rue de Ponthieu (1906) (now destroyed) with a simplified cubic structure expressing the interior, large bays of windows and a lack of decoration, which resembled the later [[International Style (architecture)|International Style]].<ref name = "Robert1988"/> ==Early works (1913–1939)== <gallery mode="packed" heights="200"> File:Paris 16 (25437741212).jpg|Reinforced-concrete apartment building at 25 rue Benjamin Franklin, Paris (1903) File:Théâtre des Champs-Élysées DSC09330.jpg|[[Théâtre des Champs-Élysées]], Paris (1913) File:Theatre Champs Elysees 35.jpg|Interior of the [[Théâtre des Champs-Élysées]] (1913) File:Le Raincy-F-PAR-045.jpg|Interior of the [[Église Notre-Dame du Raincy|Church of Notre Dame du Raincy]] (1922–23) File:Chapelle Auguste Perret Arcueil.jpg|The Chapel of Immaculate Conception in [[Arcueil]] (1930) File:L'exposition Auguste Perret (Conseil économique, social et environnemental, Paris) (11872278295).jpg|Grand stairway of the Conseil économique, social et environnemental, Paris (1937) </gallery> His most famous building was the [[Théâtre des Champs-Élysées]] a project which he took over from the [[Art Nouveau]] architect [[Henry van de Velde]]. The facade was simple and decorated only with a sculptural bas-relief by [[Antoine Bourdelle]]. The corner of the building was smooth and rounded, anticipating the [[Streamline Moderne]] style three decades later. Thanks to the use of concrete pillars, the interior lobby and the theater itself was vast and open, unobstructed by columns. The interior decoration featured works by the modernist artists of the day; a dome by [[Maurice Denis]], paintings by [[Édouard Vuillard]] and [[Jacqueline Marval]], and a stage curtain by [[Ker-Xavier Roussel]].<ref name = "Robert1988"/> In his later works, Perret used concrete in imaginative ways to achieve the functions of his buildings, while preserving classical harmony, symmetry and proportions. His major works included the building of the [[French Economic, Social and Environmental Council]], originally built for the Museum of Public Works of the 1937 Paris Exposition; and the Mobilier Nationale, the national government furniture atelier in Paris. He also created innovative industrial buildings, including a warehouse in [[Casablanca]] covered with a think veil of concrete (1915); the [[Perret tower (Grenoble)|Perret Tower]], the first concrete tower for the International Exhibition of Hydropower and Tourism of [[Grenoble]] (1925), to demonstrate his "Order of Concrete"; and the church of Notre Dame du Raincy (1922–23), where the interior columns were left undecorated and the concrete vaults of the ceiling became the most prominent decorative feature. He experimented with concrete forms to achieve the best acoustics for the concert hall of the [[École Normale de Musique de Paris]] in Paris. (1929)<ref name = "Robert1988"/> ==Later works (1945–1954)== <gallery mode="packed" heights="200"> File:Churchtowerinverted.jpg|Spire of [[St. Joseph's Church, Le Havre]] (1951–58) File:Le_Havre_01.jpg|Tower of [[Hôtel de Ville, Le Havre|Le Havre City Hall]] (1953–58) </gallery> In 1952, he completed construction of the [[Saclay Nuclear Research Centre]] in the Paris suburb of Essonne. He described this campus as a "small Versailles for nuclear research". Most of France's early nuclear reactors were constructed within the site. His other major postwar projects included the reconstruction of the center of the port of [[Le Havre]], which had been almost totally destroyed during the war. His first plan was rejected as too ambitious, but his modified plans were followed. He also participated in the postwar reconstruction of the [[Marseille]] port and of [[Amiens]]. His last major work, finished after his death, was the [[St. Joseph's Church, Le Havre]], (1951–58) whose most prominent feature is its tower, like a lighthouse, 107 meters high, and visible at sea.{{Sfn|Poisson|2009|pages=299-301}} ==Later life, honors and legacy== [[File:Auguste Perret.jpg|thumb|Bust of Auguste Perret in Paris]] Among the many young architects who worked in the office of Perret from 1908 to 1910 was Charles-Édouard Jeanneret-Gris, who later became known as [[Le Corbusier]]; it was his first experience in an architectural firm. From 1940, Perret taught at the [[École des Beaux-Arts]]. He won the [[Royal Gold Medal]] in 1948 and the [[AIA Gold Medal]] in 1952. His work was also part of the [[Art competitions at the 1948 Summer Olympics#Architecture|architecture event]] in the [[Art competitions at the 1948 Summer Olympics|art competition]] at the [[1948 Summer Olympics]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/920386 |title=Auguste Perret |work=Olympedia |access-date=20 August 2020}}</ref> Perret also served as a juror with [[Florence Meyer Blumenthal]] in awarding the [[Prix Blumenthal]], a grant given between 1919 and 1954 to young French painters, sculptors, decorators, engravers, writers, and musicians.<ref name="FMBlumenthal">{{cite web | title = Florence Meyer Blumenthal | publisher = Jewish Women's Archive, Michele Siegel | url = http://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/blumenthal-florence-meyer}}</ref> In 1998, the [[Perret tower (Grenoble)|Perret Tower]] in Grenoble was declared a national heritage site by France. In 2005, his reconstruction of Le Havre was declared a World Heritage Site by [[UNESCO]]. == List of major works == * [http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/Rue_Franklin_Apartments.html Rue Franklin apartments, Paris, 1902–1904] * Garage Ponthieu, Paris, 1907 * [[Théâtre des Champs-Élysées]], Paris, 1913 * Concrete [[cathedral]] in [[Le Raincy]], France, [[Église Notre-Dame du Raincy]], 1923, with stained-glass work by [[Marguerite Huré]] * [[Perret tower (Grenoble)|Perret tower]], Grenoble, 1925 * La maison-ateliers [[Chana Orloff]], 7 bis villa Seurat, Paris, 1926 * [[Villa Aghion]], [[Alexandria]], 1928 (demolished between 2009 and 2016) * Concert hall of the [[École Normale de Musique de Paris]], 1929 * [[Hôtel Saint-Georges]], [[Beirut]], [[Lebanon]] 1932<ref>{{cite web |title=Hôtels mythiques, hôtels de guerre: Beyrouth, nager dans les ruines|publisher=Obsession |year=2014 |access-date=August 23, 2014 |url=http://obsession.nouvelobs.com/voyage/20140813.OBS6245/hotels-mythiques-hotels-de-guerre-beyrouth-nager-dans-les-ruines.html}}</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=isuTDpkqdk8C&dq=Hotel+St.+George+beirut+perret&pg=PA712 A Global History of Architecture] by Francis D. K. Ching, Mark M. Jarzombek, Vikramaditya Prakash page 712</ref> * Immeuble Lange, 9 place de la Porte-de-Passy, Paris (1929–1932) *Services Techniques des Constructions Navales, 8 boulevard du General-Martial-Valin (15th arron.) Paris, 1929–1932; an example of a framework of exposed concrete columns. * Building, 51-55 rue Raynouard (16th arr.) Paris, (1932), where Perret had his offices * Palais Iéna, Paris, 1937, originally built as the Museum of Public Works for the 1937 Paris Exposition, now home of the [[French Economic, Social and Environmental Council]] * Extensions to the [[École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts]], Paris, 1945 * [[Hôtel de Ville, Le Havre|City Hall]], [[Saint-Joseph, Le Havre|St. Joseph's Church]] and further reconstruction of the French city of [[Le Havre]] after more than 80,000 inhabitants of that city were left homeless following World War II, 1949–1956 * Restaurant #1 of [[Saclay Nuclear Research Centre|CEA Paris-Saclay]], 1952<ref>{{cite web |title=Une réinterprétation contemporaine de l'oeuvre d'Auguste Perret |date=25 June 2014 |url=https://www.cea.fr/presse/Pages/dossiers/2014/restaurant-du-CEA-Saclay-une-r%C3%A9interpr%C3%A9tation-oeuvre-Auguste-Perret.aspx |access-date=28 October 2022 |language=French}}</ref> * [[Gare d'Amiens]], 1955 ==See also== * [[Art Deco in Paris]] * [[Architecture of Paris]] * [[Paris architecture of the Belle Époque]] * [[Art Deco]] * [[Fernand Pouillon]] * [[Fabien Vienne]] == Notes == {{reflist}} ==References== *{{cite book|last=Fierro|first=Alfred|title=Histoire et dictionnaire de Paris|year=1996|publisher=Robert Laffont|isbn=2-221-07862-4}}} *{{cite book|last=Lemoine|first=Bertrand|title=Guide d'architecture - France 20th century|year=2000|publisher=Picard}} *{{Cite book|last=Poisson|first=Michel|title=1000 Immeubles et monuments de Paris|year=2009|publisher=Parigramme|isbn=978-2-84096-539-8}} *{{cite book|last=Renault|first=Christophe|title=Les Styles de l'architecture et du mobilier|publisher=Editions Jean-Paul Gisserot|year=2006|isbn=978-2-877474-658}}} *{{Cite book|last=Texier|first=Simon|title=Paris- Panorama de l'architecture|year=2012|publisher=Parigramme|isbn=978-2-84096-667-8}} ==External links== {{commons category|Auguste Perret}} * [https://www.flickr.com/groups/auguste_perret/pool/ Flickr Pool with pictures] * [http://www.archi-guide.com/AR/perret.htm List of realisations on Archiguide] * [http://www.greatbuildings.com/architects/Auguste_Perret.html Auguste Perret on GreatBuildings.com] * [http://www.scholarsresource.com/browse/work/2144591666 ''Garage Ponthieu'' at Scholars Resource] {{Authority control (arts)}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Perret, Auguste}} [[Category:1874 births]] [[Category:1954 deaths]] [[Category:People from Ixelles]] [[Category:20th-century French architects]] [[Category:Prix Blumenthal]] [[Category:École des Beaux-Arts alumni]] [[Category:Academic staff of the École des Beaux-Arts]] [[Category:Concrete pioneers]] [[Category:Burials at Montparnasse Cemetery]] [[Category:Recipients of the Royal Gold Medal]] [[Category:Members of the Académie des beaux-arts]] [[Category:Modernist architects from France]] [[Category:Art competitors at the 1948 Summer Olympics]] [[Category:Recipients of the AIA Gold Medal]]
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