Auguste Perret 1874-1954

1. Auguste Perret1874-1954 A pioneer in reinforced concrete construction.

2. The chronological contextof Perret’s architecture

3. The context of his architecture Geographical context: • Auguste Perret was a French architect based in Paris. He worked in partnership with his brother Gustave Perret. Paris

4. Context continued… Historical and social context: • Auguste Perret was an important pioneer of the modern movement. His most significant buildings were constructed in reinforced concrete in the years between 1902 to 1922. • He was the youngest of the first generation of modernists being only 28 when he built his first major building, his family-owned apartments at 25 bis Rue Franklin, Paris in 1902. Like Frank Lloyd Wright in America, he had a long career and died well into the 1950s when modernism was at its height. • Perret studied for a brief time in the academic Ecole des Beaux Arts, the conservative, classical-revival design school of the period. But he left this formal architectural training early to work with his father and brother in the family’s concrete construction business. These two early experiences shaped two stylistic characteristics of Perret’s work: 1) His use of classical proportion and symmetry 2) His functional approach to design and construction in reinforced concrete. Apartments, 25 bis Rue Franklin, Paris, 1902.

5. Context continued… • Auguste Perret was one of the very first architects to give a modern architectural expression to reinforced concrete. Modern cement-based concrete was patented in 1867 by the French gardener Joseph Monier, but during the Victorian period it remained hidden behind stone façades and veneers because it was considered a crude building material. In the 1890s Francois Hennebique introduced the trebeated structural system of reinforced concreting, but it was with Auguste Perret that this new, industrial material became expressed architecturally on the facade of buildings. • Up till 1908 the young Le Corbusier worked in Perret’s architectural practice. From him Le Corbusier learned about: ● using reinforced concrete to create skeletal structures for building ● using classical proportions and composition in modern design ● using standardised components in design and construction ● a geometric approach to design and the flat roof as living space. Hennebique’s system, developed in 1892, for structural continuity in reinforcing concrete posts, beams and slabs. Le Corbusier Perret

6. Stylistic features of Perret’s buildings • As a pioneer of the architecturally expressed reinforced concrete frame, Perret’s buildings feature large areas of glazing on the non-weight-bearing walls. Internal spaces are open and generous and often lit by skylights. • Perret’s buildings are often described as ‘stripped classical’. They have the symmetrical, balanced and harmonious proportions and rhythms of classical architecture, often with abstract references to columns and cornices. He stripped away the ornament and detailing indulged in by the Beaux Arts classical-revival architects of the day. These qualities give his buildings formality and dignity. • Perret’s buildings have a rational functionalism. Concrete is left raw, though sometimes with coloured or patterned elements to them. His designs arose out of modern functional considerations rather than aesthetic ones.

7. The significant Perret building. Apartments, 25 bis Rue Franklin, Paris, 1902

8. Stylistic features of Perret’s Rue Franklin Apartments The rectangular frame allows for roof terraces on setbacks of upper apartments. U-shaped front façade inspired by statu- tory light courts at the rear of Parisian apartment buildings. The trabeated, rectangular concrete frame throughout building is not exposed directly, but is expressed by the plain tiles on the façade. The non-weight-bearing walls are ex- pressed as slightly-recessed infill panels of floral-patterned ceramic tile. At street level the Perrets had their architecture studio. This large, open space exposed the uprights of the concrete frame and became forerunners of Le Corbusier’s pilotis.

9. Stylistic features of Perret’s Rue Franklin Apartments Glazed openings are as large as zoning laws allowed. The concrete frame allows for thin wall partitions and maximum interior space. Dining room Drawing room Bedroom At the sixth storey apartment a reinforced concrete frame breaks free of the wall surface. This looks forward to the airy, transparent effects of the International Style. A full appreciation of the building’s form can be gained only by moving across its entire façade. This experiential dimension to architectural form and space is modernist.