LEDOUX, Claude-Nicolas

Built in 1775-79, the buildings are arranged in a semi-circle, in emulation of château schemes conceived in the absolutist Baroque fashion, but there are also parallels with schemes for ideal cities from the 16th century. The strikingly grand scale is indicative of the gradual rise in the status of utilitarian building commissions during the period of the Enlightenment.

This engraving was made in 1804. The town meant to be built by the Saline Royale was never carried out. It would have completed the circle of the site.

Ledoux’s barri�res or tollhouses became a distinctive feature of the Parisian cityscape. The tollhouses was to contain the flourishing smuggling trade in the growing city behind a new ring of masonry. Ledoux was commissioned in 1784 to build more than 50 such barri�res, but only four have survived. In view of the large number of pavilions with identical functions, Ledoux made an effort to come up with an architecture that was not only appropriate to the exposed positions, but also both showy and varied. Vigorous rustication emphasized the fortified nature of the buildings. However, the character of the buildings was evident primarily in their squareness and massiveness.

The Barri�re de la Villette consists of a cubic block with a cylindrical drum.

Ledoux was commissioned in 1784 to build more than 50 barri�res or tollhouses, but only four have survived.

The photo shows a detail of the fa�ade of the Barri�re du Tr�ne.

Among the most important French architects of the second half of the 18th century was Claude-Nicolas Ledoux. He built the château of B�nouville in Normandy for the Marquis de Livry, begun 1768. The blocked, closed building mass is articulated by a giant Ionic order, which consists of pilasters on the garden side and contrasts sharply with the ashlar masonry of the fa�ades and the frameless window apertures. The columned portico with its crest is tied in horizontally by the continuous entablature and the tall attic floor.

Unusually, the stone staircase is located on the garden side. Its dome, designed with an oculus, represents remarkable ambitiousness, echoing great chateau staircases of the 17th century.

The photo shows the fa�ade.

Although constructed under quite different political conditions, the planned workers’ city inside the Arc-et-Senans saltworks provided a foretaste of the architecture of the Revolution. Claude-Nicolas Ledoux, a theoretician with sociopolitical ambitions, planned an ideal city in an elliptical design combining a patrician scheme - the manager’s house was centrally located - with a moralistic utopia. While the overall concept tended towards the traditional, Ledoux provided individual buildings with features that were extremely progressive. Brewing houses decorated with simulated stalactites, the workshop of a tire maker designed in the form of a disk with concentric rings, and undecorated cubic forms embodying abstract concepts were typical of his work here. Ledoux uninhibitedly deployed a full architectural repertoire drawn from history and fantasy, with a freedom which was unusual for its day.

The picture shows the administrative pavilion in the centre of the complex.

Although constructed under quite different political conditions, the planned workers’ city inside the Arc-et-Senans saltworks provided a foretaste of the architecture of the Revolution. Claude-Nicolas Ledoux, a theoretician with sociopolitical ambitions, planned an ideal city in an elliptical design combining a patrician scheme - the manager’s house was centrally located - with a moralistic utopia. While the overall concept tended towards the traditional, Ledoux provided individual buildings with features that were extremely progressive. Brewing houses decorated with simulated stalactites, the workshop of a tire maker designed in the form of a disk with concentric rings, and undecorated cubic forms embodying abstract concepts were typical of his work here. Ledoux uninhibitedly deployed a full architectural repertoire drawn from history and fantasy, with a freedom which was unusual for its day.

The picture shows the administrative pavilion in the centre of the complex.

The grotto-like niche bof the entrance gateway constitutes a primitive kind of visual expression akin to “speaking architecture.”

Although constructed under quite different political conditions, the planned workers’ city inside the Arc-et-Senans saltworks provided a foretaste of the architecture of the Revolution. Claude-Nicolas Ledoux, a theoretician with sociopolitical ambitions, planned an ideal city in an elliptical design combining a patrician scheme - the manager’s house was centrally located - with a moralistic utopia. While the overall concept tended towards the traditional, Ledoux provided individual buildings with features that were extremely progressive. Brewing houses decorated with simulated stalactites, the workshop of a tire maker designed in the form of a disk with concentric rings, and undecorated cubic forms embodying abstract concepts were typical of his work here. Ledoux uninhibitedly deployed a full architectural repertoire drawn from history and fantasy, with a freedom which was unusual for its day.

The picture shows a general view of the planned workers’ city with the administrative pavilion in the centre of the complex.

The most remarkable private house by Ledoux was the H�tel de Th�lusson, built 1777-81 for the widow of a Swiss banker. The building caused such a sensation that the pressure of visitors could only be controlled by issuing entrance tickets.

The building was demolished in 1824.

Among the most important French architects of the second half of the 18th century was Claude-Nicolas Ledoux. He built the château of B�nouville in Normandy for the Marquis de Livry, begun 1768. The blocked, closed building mass is articulated by a giant Ionic order, which consists of pilasters on the garden side and contrasts sharply with the ashlar masonry of the fa�ades and the frameless window apertures. The columned portico with its crest is tied in horizontally by the continuous entablature and the tall attic floor.

Unusually, the stone staircase is located on the garden side. Its dome, designed with an oculus, represents remarkable ambitiousness, echoing great chateau staircases of the 17th century.

The photo shows the stairwell.

After the outbreak of the revolution, Ledoux received scarcely any commissions, so he turned to writing. He developed an extended model of his ideal city, which acquired Utopian features in the visual translation of all important functions and didactic intentions. Water courses, for example, were to be diverted through the river inspector’s house, which looked like a cylinder on its side.

The present engraving illustrates a proposed river inspector’s house for River Loue.