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F O U N DAT I O N S O F A M E R I C A ’ S A R C H I T E C T U R A L G I L D E D AG E A R C H I T E C T U R E S T U D E N T S AT T H E É C O L E D E S B E AU X - A RT S 1846–1946
A M E R I C A N S I N PA R I S JEA N PAUL C A RLHI AN A ND M A R G OT M. ELLI S
CLASSICAL AMERICA
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EDBA.1.alt_Layout 1 2/11/14 12:32 PM Page 6
F O U N DAT I O N S O F A M E R I C A ’ S A R C H I T E C T U R A L G I L D E D AG E A R C H I T E C T U R E S T U D E N T S AT T H E É C O L E D E S B E AU X - A RT S 1846–1946
A M E R I C A N S I N PA R I S JEA N PAUL C A RLHI AN A ND M A R G OT M. ELLI S
CLASSICAL AMERICA
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EDBA.1.alt_Layout 1 2/11/14 12:32 PM Page 28
B-10 00547_A_0033p281 The architect in his private alcove B-11 Rou080 Waterworks, plan, section, elevation Constant-Desiré Despradelle, 1887
The esquisse-esquisse, not to be confounded with the esquisse that was required as the first step of a projet rendu, was a special kind of exercise. Designed to develop individual talent, stimulate imagination, and reward rendering skill, it generally consisted of an exercise in plan or a skillful perspective representation of a given structure. It was arrived at in isolation during a twelve-hour stretch. Considerable latitude was given the student as to the choice of media, the manner of the representation, or the arrangement within the sheet of the paper called for by the design solution. What should be remembered is that the product was a true original, produced by the student himself without the benefit of outside help. Few medals were given, so the rewards were meager. But that is of little importance when one considers the amount of time and effort involved. Some of the rare first mentions in the second class and the medals in first class awarded by the jury in this kind of exercise remain the property of the École and are kept in its archives. As such, they provide a testimony of the winner’s personal skill. In the case of Americans, who were often accused of owing their success to outside French help, these examples are of particular interest. Lastly, there were six concours or exercises, each devoted to a specific aspect of architectural education. The Concours
Rougevin, established in 1857, was a feverish sevenday exercise conducted en loge at the École, focused on the treatment of decoration and ornament. It consisted essentially of a rendering, and because it was done without any outside help, it remained the most reliable test of a student’s skill. The Concours Godeboeuf, established in 1881, was dedicated to the use and characteristics of a specific material, such as wood, stone, cast-iron, or steel. Executed in the atelier over the short span of two weeks, it called to produce a presentation at a level of near working drawings. American Arthur Brown Jr. won the 740 francs prize in 1900 with his treatment of une campanile, or clock tower. The Concours Delaon dealt with the design of public parks and gardens, and tested landscape design talent, or the art des entourages. It was executed over the span of ten days, with the student doing his work in the atelier. The prize was named after Paul Delaon, a remarkable French student who was killed in World War I; his budding genius gave all indications that, had he lived, he would have stamped a definite imprint upon the whole École and led it into the future—rather than in the retrogressive direction it experienced in the wake of the decimation the war caused. The Labarre was a three-day affair dealing with planning and urban design issues, such as circulation problems associated with railroads or harbor terminals. The design required was always a plan. As one of the only competi-
28 T E A C H I N G S AT T H E É C O L E
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29
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B-10 00547_A_0033p281 The architect in his private alcove B-11 Rou080 Waterworks, plan, section, elevation Constant-Desiré Despradelle, 1887
The esquisse-esquisse, not to be confounded with the esquisse that was required as the first step of a projet rendu, was a special kind of exercise. Designed to develop individual talent, stimulate imagination, and reward rendering skill, it generally consisted of an exercise in plan or a skillful perspective representation of a given structure. It was arrived at in isolation during a twelve-hour stretch. Considerable latitude was given the student as to the choice of media, the manner of the representation, or the arrangement within the sheet of the paper called for by the design solution. What should be remembered is that the product was a true original, produced by the student himself without the benefit of outside help. Few medals were given, so the rewards were meager. But that is of little importance when one considers the amount of time and effort involved. Some of the rare first mentions in the second class and the medals in first class awarded by the jury in this kind of exercise remain the property of the École and are kept in its archives. As such, they provide a testimony of the winner’s personal skill. In the case of Americans, who were often accused of owing their success to outside French help, these examples are of particular interest. Lastly, there were six concours or exercises, each devoted to a specific aspect of architectural education. The Concours
Rougevin, established in 1857, was a feverish sevenday exercise conducted en loge at the École, focused on the treatment of decoration and ornament. It consisted essentially of a rendering, and because it was done without any outside help, it remained the most reliable test of a student’s skill. The Concours Godeboeuf, established in 1881, was dedicated to the use and characteristics of a specific material, such as wood, stone, cast-iron, or steel. Executed in the atelier over the short span of two weeks, it called to produce a presentation at a level of near working drawings. American Arthur Brown Jr. won the 740 francs prize in 1900 with his treatment of une campanile, or clock tower. The Concours Delaon dealt with the design of public parks and gardens, and tested landscape design talent, or the art des entourages. It was executed over the span of ten days, with the student doing his work in the atelier. The prize was named after Paul Delaon, a remarkable French student who was killed in World War I; his budding genius gave all indications that, had he lived, he would have stamped a definite imprint upon the whole École and led it into the future—rather than in the retrogressive direction it experienced in the wake of the decimation the war caused. The Labarre was a three-day affair dealing with planning and urban design issues, such as circulation problems associated with railroads or harbor terminals. The design required was always a plan. As one of the only competi-
28 T E A C H I N G S AT T H E É C O L E
29
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B-16 Rou180 A tapestry Douglas Ellington, 1914 B-18 Rou213 A postal stamp Joseph Almirall, 1931 B-19 Rou215 A postal stamp Paul A. Nelson, 1928
33
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B-16 Rou180 A tapestry Douglas Ellington, 1914 B-18 Rou213 A postal stamp Joseph Almirall, 1931 B-19 Rou215 A postal stamp Paul A. Nelson, 1928
33
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B-46 Pj2325_01 Stairway for a national library in a capital city, plans John Galen Howard, 1892 B-47 Pj2325_02 Stairway for a national library in a capital city, section John Galen Howard, 1892 64 T E A C H I N G S AT T H E É C O L E
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65
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B-46 Pj2325_01 Stairway for a national library in a capital city, plans John Galen Howard, 1892 B-47 Pj2325_02 Stairway for a national library in a capital city, section John Galen Howard, 1892 64 T E A C H I N G S AT T H E É C O L E
65
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EDBA.1.alt_Layout 1 2/11/14 12:32 PM Page 2
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EDBA.1.alt_Layout 1 2/11/14 12:32 PM Page 82
B-65 Pj2551_04 A plant for the manufacture of mosaics and stained glass windows, section Everett Victor Meeks, 1908 B-66 Pj2551_03 A plant for the manufacture of mosaics and stained glass windows, elevation Everett Victor Meeks, 1908
timeters for that matter. After all, weren’t all the great examples of the past, whether Greek, Egyptian, Gothic, Renaissance, Italian, or even French, dimensioned in feet of one kind or another—bearing therefore very little, if any, relation to meter measurements? One can readily understand why, under such circumstances, dividers were preferred to a drafting scale when divisions in equal parts or incremental additions were called for. T-squares and triangles were hand-manufactured and made of wood. Thus they were susceptible to warping and denting, in spite of sometimes being bound in ebony as an extra precaution, and they differed from one another. Using opposite faces of a triangle brought different results. The unevenness of drafting board edges and the sides of stretchers were other sources of frustration to those who sought precision in their drafting. Whereas adjustable T-squares made corrections possible, they offered at the same time another possibility for error. The forty-five-degree triangle was not only useful, it was vital. It facilitated ninety-degree relationships, and also provided an easy way of determining center lines, maintaining identical relationships when turning ninety-degree corners in a classical fashion, and, of course, casting shadows in accordance with the prescribed forty-five-degree angle. The thirty-degree/sixty-degree triangle, while indeed in existence and part of the instrument panoply available to students, was not much used. It was an instrument that seems to have had no influence on the students’ design solutions. The adjustable triangle, it should be remembered, made its belated appearance upon the École’s scene only after World War II. (B-42) An array of ruling pens of different degrees of thinness and compasses completed the assortment of precision instruments available. The École conceived of itself as an educational institution. It never had the pretension of teaching architecture. It was not a professional school by any stretch of the imagination. What institution whose curriculum never required more than two exercises requiring the drawing of wall sections would ever aspire to such a reputation? The École, in the mold of many French institutions of higher learning, concerned itself with the shaping and training of minds. The École sought to prepare its students to become architects. It knew, only too well, that the only valid environment in which such a proficiency could be achieved was that of an architectural office, and that the only place for them to learn how to put a building together was the construction site. So it concerned itself with teaching future architects how to think architecturally. By introducing them to a carefully devised multiplicity of challenges, it exposed them, time and again, to the exercise of judgment. 82 T E A C H I N G S AT T H E É C O L E
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83
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B-65 Pj2551_04 A plant for the manufacture of mosaics and stained glass windows, section Everett Victor Meeks, 1908 B-66 Pj2551_03 A plant for the manufacture of mosaics and stained glass windows, elevation Everett Victor Meeks, 1908
timeters for that matter. After all, weren’t all the great examples of the past, whether Greek, Egyptian, Gothic, Renaissance, Italian, or even French, dimensioned in feet of one kind or another—bearing therefore very little, if any, relation to meter measurements? One can readily understand why, under such circumstances, dividers were preferred to a drafting scale when divisions in equal parts or incremental additions were called for. T-squares and triangles were hand-manufactured and made of wood. Thus they were susceptible to warping and denting, in spite of sometimes being bound in ebony as an extra precaution, and they differed from one another. Using opposite faces of a triangle brought different results. The unevenness of drafting board edges and the sides of stretchers were other sources of frustration to those who sought precision in their drafting. Whereas adjustable T-squares made corrections possible, they offered at the same time another possibility for error. The forty-five-degree triangle was not only useful, it was vital. It facilitated ninety-degree relationships, and also provided an easy way of determining center lines, maintaining identical relationships when turning ninety-degree corners in a classical fashion, and, of course, casting shadows in accordance with the prescribed forty-five-degree angle. The thirty-degree/sixty-degree triangle, while indeed in existence and part of the instrument panoply available to students, was not much used. It was an instrument that seems to have had no influence on the students’ design solutions. The adjustable triangle, it should be remembered, made its belated appearance upon the École’s scene only after World War II. (B-42) An array of ruling pens of different degrees of thinness and compasses completed the assortment of precision instruments available. The École conceived of itself as an educational institution. It never had the pretension of teaching architecture. It was not a professional school by any stretch of the imagination. What institution whose curriculum never required more than two exercises requiring the drawing of wall sections would ever aspire to such a reputation? The École, in the mold of many French institutions of higher learning, concerned itself with the shaping and training of minds. The École sought to prepare its students to become architects. It knew, only too well, that the only valid environment in which such a proficiency could be achieved was that of an architectural office, and that the only place for them to learn how to put a building together was the construction site. So it concerned itself with teaching future architects how to think architecturally. By introducing them to a carefully devised multiplicity of challenges, it exposed them, time and again, to the exercise of judgment. 82 T E A C H I N G S AT T H E É C O L E
83
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EDBA.1.alt_Layout 1 2/11/14 12:32 PM Page 104
B-113 3c02636u Eiffel Tower, Paris Gustave Eiffel, 1889
B-114 05178u Palais Garnier, Opéra de Paris Charles Garnier, 1875
ture in the world for the next forty years. The start of a new network, the underground metro, was taking place, its cast- and wrought-iron station entrances designed by Hector Guimard in the latest Art Nouveau style. The Grand Opéra (1862–74) by Charles Garnier stood in its splendor, the largest theater complex of its time. The great reading room of the Bibliothèque Nationale was complete, as was the Bibliothèque Ste. Genevieve—both by Henri Labrouste, and both proudly and honestly featuring their iron interior structures. The great department stores, with glass interiors, were either completed or under construction. By 1887 all major railroad stations had been built, save for the Gare de Lyon (Denis-Marius Toudoire, architect EDBA 1871, and M. Denis, engineer) and the Gare d’Orsay (Victor-Alexandre-Frédéric
104 E A S T B O U N D
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Laloux, architect EDBA 1869), both completed in time for the Exposition Universelle of 1900. The Americans would have witnessed the frantic preparations of this great exposition, for which the first single-span bridge in France, le Pont Alexandre III, was expressly built. It was designed by architects Marie-Joseph Cassien-Bernard and Gaston-Clément Cousin together with engineers Louis-Jean Résal and Amédée d’Alby. The bridge created an axis of travel that led from the Hotel des Invalides in the seventh arrondissement north through the Esplanade des Invalides, across the Seine in a single bound, on to the newly constructed Grand and Petit Palais in the eight arrondissement, and ending at the Avenue des Champs Elysées.
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B-113 3c02636u Eiffel Tower, Paris Gustave Eiffel, 1889
B-114 05178u Palais Garnier, Opéra de Paris Charles Garnier, 1875
ture in the world for the next forty years. The start of a new network, the underground metro, was taking place, its cast- and wrought-iron station entrances designed by Hector Guimard in the latest Art Nouveau style. The Grand Opéra (1862–74) by Charles Garnier stood in its splendor, the largest theater complex of its time. The great reading room of the Bibliothèque Nationale was complete, as was the Bibliothèque Ste. Genevieve—both by Henri Labrouste, and both proudly and honestly featuring their iron interior structures. The great department stores, with glass interiors, were either completed or under construction. By 1887 all major railroad stations had been built, save for the Gare de Lyon (Denis-Marius Toudoire, architect EDBA 1871, and M. Denis, engineer) and the Gare d’Orsay (Victor-Alexandre-Frédéric
Laloux, architect EDBA 1869), both completed in time for the Exposition Universelle of 1900. The Americans would have witnessed the frantic preparations of this great exposition, for which the first single-span bridge in France, le Pont Alexandre III, was expressly built. It was designed by architects Marie-Joseph Cassien-Bernard and Gaston-Clément Cousin together with engineers Louis-Jean Résal and Amédée d’Alby. The bridge created an axis of travel that led from the Hotel des Invalides in the seventh arrondissement north through the Esplanade des Invalides, across the Seine in a single bound, on to the newly constructed Grand and Petit Palais in the eight arrondissement, and ending at the Avenue des Champs Elysées.
104 E A S T B O U N D
105
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EDBA.1.alt_Layout 1 2/11/14 12:32 PM Page 110
B-112 3c33257u Gare du Nord, Paris Jacques-Ignace Hittorff, 1865
B-160 1558218u Grand Central Terminal, New York, showing southwest corner Warren & Wetmore, 1913
Guimard in the latest Art Nouveau style. Iron was the latest structural innovation, spanning the glass ceilings of new department stores or leaping across the Seine in one arch. The Galerie des Machines, with a record span and length of 1378 feet was still standing as a remnant of the 1889 Exposition Universelle. The Eiffel Tower was the tallest structure in the world, begun January 6, 1887, completed March 31, 1889, towering at 904 feet and accommodating millions of visitors. Its construction cost of 7.8 million francs was nearly paid back in the first year of its inauguration on May 15, 1889, by admission fees paid by nearly two million visitors that year. The use of iron could be seen in the interiors of department stores, in churches (St. Augustin by Baltard, from 1860–1868), on
bridges (Pont Alexandre III, in 1896), Les Halles by Baltard and in the new metro stations, Ligne 1, inaugurated July 19, 1900, by Guimard (1867–1924). (The Crystal Palace in London had already been completed in 1851.) The Grand Opéra (1862–1874) by Garnier stood in its entire splendor, the largest theater complex of its time. The first underground metro running east-west under the Champs Elysées or the rue de Rivoli and other boulevards was completed by Haussmann. (Pont de Neuilly–Porte de Vincennes). The first New York subway built at the same time, a line from City Hall to Harlem, opened October 27, 1904, and was designed by William Barclay Parsons. The great reading room of the Bibliothèque Nationale was complete as was the Bibliothèque Ste. Genevieve (both by
110 T H E B A N N E R Y E A R 1 8 9 5
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Labrouste), both proudly and honestly featuring their iron interior structures. The great department stores, with glass interiors, were either completed or under construction. Georges-Eugène Haussmann, the great Préfet de Paris, had carried out Napoléon III’s dream of a great city with grand boulevards lined with apartment houses following mandatory requirements governing alignment, set back and height. Considerable construction was taking place under strict new zoning regulations requiring structures to be built along property lines in a continuous development of facades protected by edicts governing the size of openings and the taxation of balconies, all governed by height limits. The heart of Paris saw the completion of the embankments of the Seine started by Napoléon I.
In rebuilding Paris, Haussmann “acquired 90 miles of new streets, hundreds of new public and private buildings, 4400 acres of parks, a daily inflow of 33 million gallons of fresh spring water for domestic use, and 354 miles of underground sewers including the huge collector sewers that virtually ended the discharge of waste water into the Seine within Paris.” The grand east-west axis of Paris, Avenue des Champs Elysées, was capped by the great Arc de Triomphe (by Chalgrin) in 1836, and at 162 feet high (almost 50 meters), the largest triumphal arch ever built. The Palais du Louvre was being completed with extensive new wings by Visconti (1791–1853) and Lefuel (1810–1881). The Hôtel de Ville, burned down in the 1871 uprising, was being
111
EDBA.1.alt_Layout 1 2/11/14 12:32 PM Page 110
B-112 3c33257u Gare du Nord, Paris Jacques-Ignace Hittorff, 1865
B-160 1558218u Grand Central Terminal, New York, showing southwest corner Warren & Wetmore, 1913
Guimard in the latest Art Nouveau style. Iron was the latest structural innovation, spanning the glass ceilings of new department stores or leaping across the Seine in one arch. The Galerie des Machines, with a record span and length of 1378 feet was still standing as a remnant of the 1889 Exposition Universelle. The Eiffel Tower was the tallest structure in the world, begun January 6, 1887, completed March 31, 1889, towering at 904 feet and accommodating millions of visitors. Its construction cost of 7.8 million francs was nearly paid back in the first year of its inauguration on May 15, 1889, by admission fees paid by nearly two million visitors that year. The use of iron could be seen in the interiors of department stores, in churches (St. Augustin by Baltard, from 1860–1868), on
bridges (Pont Alexandre III, in 1896), Les Halles by Baltard and in the new metro stations, Ligne 1, inaugurated July 19, 1900, by Guimard (1867–1924). (The Crystal Palace in London had already been completed in 1851.) The Grand Opéra (1862–1874) by Garnier stood in its entire splendor, the largest theater complex of its time. The first underground metro running east-west under the Champs Elysées or the rue de Rivoli and other boulevards was completed by Haussmann. (Pont de Neuilly–Porte de Vincennes). The first New York subway built at the same time, a line from City Hall to Harlem, opened October 27, 1904, and was designed by William Barclay Parsons. The great reading room of the Bibliothèque Nationale was complete as was the Bibliothèque Ste. Genevieve (both by
Labrouste), both proudly and honestly featuring their iron interior structures. The great department stores, with glass interiors, were either completed or under construction. Georges-Eugène Haussmann, the great Préfet de Paris, had carried out Napoléon III’s dream of a great city with grand boulevards lined with apartment houses following mandatory requirements governing alignment, set back and height. Considerable construction was taking place under strict new zoning regulations requiring structures to be built along property lines in a continuous development of facades protected by edicts governing the size of openings and the taxation of balconies, all governed by height limits. The heart of Paris saw the completion of the embankments of the Seine started by Napoléon I.
In rebuilding Paris, Haussmann “acquired 90 miles of new streets, hundreds of new public and private buildings, 4400 acres of parks, a daily inflow of 33 million gallons of fresh spring water for domestic use, and 354 miles of underground sewers including the huge collector sewers that virtually ended the discharge of waste water into the Seine within Paris.” The grand east-west axis of Paris, Avenue des Champs Elysées, was capped by the great Arc de Triomphe (by Chalgrin) in 1836, and at 162 feet high (almost 50 meters), the largest triumphal arch ever built. The Palais du Louvre was being completed with extensive new wings by Visconti (1791–1853) and Lefuel (1810–1881). The Hôtel de Ville, burned down in the 1871 uprising, was being
110 T H E B A N N E R Y E A R 1 8 9 5
111
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T H E V ERY F IR ST B-125 wurts_G1114_110387 Metropolitan Museum Of Art, New York Richard Morris Hunt, 1902
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T H E V ERY F IR ST B-125 wurts_G1114_110387 Metropolitan Museum Of Art, New York Richard Morris Hunt, 1902
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Š 2014 Rizzoli International Publications. All Rights Reserved.
Š 2014 Rizzoli International Publications. All Rights Reserved.