Castel Béranger: exterior view

The Castel B�ranger is a residential building located at 14 rue de la Fontaine in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. It was designed by the architect Hector Guimard and built between 1895 and 1898. It was the first residence in Paris built in the style known as Art Nouveau.

The influence of Eug�ne-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc is evident in Guimard’s early works, which culminated in the Castel B�ranger block of flats, where his first use of the Art Nouveau style appeared in its decorative elements. After seeing Victor Horta’s H�tel Tassel in Brussels in 1895, Guimard changed the original neo-Gothic decorative elements of the Castel B�ranger. He introduced a colourful mixture of facing materials and organically derived embellishments, based on his belief that decoration is more effective for being non-representational.

Guimard began designing the Castel B�ranger in 1895, and he became involved in every detail of the project: the furniture, ornamental ironwork, carpets, glass, wallpaper, door locks and doorknobs.

The photo shows the fa�ade of Castel B�ranger.