Auguste Perret

A Master of the reinforced concrete

Born with Brussels in Belgium, where his/her father had found refuge after having taken part in the Commune of Paris, it was initiated with the processes of construction within the family company (his/her grandfather was quarry master, its father was fitter, then stone mason), before founding its own company in which it engages Charles-Edouard Jeanneret known as Le Corbusier.

Auguste Perret made his studies with the 3Ecole Nationale Sup3erieure of the fine arts of Paris, where it accepted the teaching of Julien Guadet, one of the large theorists of the architecture of his time. He had to leave the Art schools before being able to gain the Prix of Rome to join the family company. He there will open his own workshop later and will deliver a teaching somewhat in rupture with the other “owners” of the School.

Associated with his brothers Gustave and Claude, which had taken again the building firm rested by their father, it was one of the first to be used the reinforced concrete in the construction industry. Thanks to a reflection on the technical and formal possibilities of this new material, it arrived at the idea of a construction in two fundamental entities: the bearing structure and sectors of filling. It applied to the concrete of the forms and the proportions borrowed from Greek art and the French classicism, as well as very sophisticated textures and surfaces. “My concrete, said it in 1944, is more beautiful than the stone. I work it, I engrave it (…), I make of it a matter which exceeds in beauty the most invaluable coatings. ”

He was elected member of the Académie of the Art schools of the Institute of France in 1943.

After the war, Perret was charged in 1945 with the rebuilding of the city of the Havre, for which it directed what was named the Perret.
Workshop Perret personally designed there the buildings of the place of the Town hall (ISAI), the Town hall (1952 - 1958) and the church Saint-Joseph (1951 - 1957): its work headlight, cantor of the concrete, raise a tower octagonal lantern of 110 m; it forms a unit with the base of the building, which joins together nave and chorus. This project of Urbanisme was completed only after its death.

A a long time ignored work

The architectural achievements of Auguste Perret were décriées a long time (the inhabitants of Le Havre criticized their rebuilt city a long time). But all evolves/moves and in 2002, the French Institut of architecture organizes an exposure which is devoted to them under the title of “the poetic one of the concrete”.

UNESCO considering that the Center-ville rebuilt of Le Havre by Auguste Perret constituted “an exceptional example of architecture and town planning of the post-war period” decided to register it on July 15th 2005 with the world heritage of humanity.

The rebuilt Center of Le Havre is to date one of the most important European architectural projects of the 20th century.

Principal achievements

1903 : Building with 25 bis, rue Franklin with Paris, first building with the reinforced concrete reinforcement completely. Photographs.
1906 : Garage of the Company Ponthieu-Cars of Paris.
1908 : Cathedral of Oran
1911 - 1913: Theater of the Fields-Élysées, classified historic building.
1922 - 1923: Notre-Dame Church of Raincy, with the Raincy, close to Paris, Photography.
1924 - 1925: Turn of orientation of Grenoble

1925 : Saint-Therese vault of Montmagny (Val-d'Oise)
1928 - 1930: Building with the 51-55 Street Raynouard with Paris Photo
1928 - 1931: Sit of the engineering service of naval constructions of the National marine.
1930 : Vault of the Immaculate-Design in Arcueil.
1930 : Building street Nungesser and Coli.
1932 : Arsenal of the port of Toulon
1936: State-owned furniture, Paris Photo
1936 - 1938: Museum of public works (today Economic and Social Council), also called Palate of Iéna, places from Iéna, Paris 16th
1939 - 1943: Machine Dodane with Besancon.
1945 : Downtown area rebuilt of Le Havre (1945-1964) , registered with the world heritage of humanity in July 2005.
1948 - 1954: Rebuilding of the place Alphonse-Fiquet and the station with Amiens. A turn of 104 m bears its name.
After 1945: New workshops with the 3Ecole Nationale Sup3erieure of the fine arts to Paris, construction of three stages, located on both sides room of Melpomène.
1950 : Last work of the architect Auguste Perret, the center of nuclear studies of Saclay, which was conceived like a " small Versailles" dedicated to sciences of the atom. The water tower conceived by Perret is the work become the architectural symbol of the Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique (ECA) of Saclay.

Gallery

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