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Paris Unplugged Renovation by Haussmann
Paris Unplugged Renovation by Haussmann
Georges-Eugene Haussmann
PARIS
The fabric of Paris is made up of many different aspects. Strolling through the broad and
straight boulevards in Paris, you can’t help but be enchanted by the city of romance.
He had to implement a massive urban renewal project between 1852 and 1870. In transforming medieval Paris into a
modern capital. A new Paris began to take shape
Demolition
☮Dark and dangerous, Paris in the middle
of the 19th century was overcrowded and
considered unhealthy.
☮The renovation project encompassed a
wide-scale demolition of overcrowded
slums and the construction of wide
streets, straight thoroughfare to promote
better traffic flow, an updated sewage
system, and elegant building facades.
☮What ensued was the so-called
Haussmann-style buildings
mushrooming from then on.
Signature Architecture (Haussmann Style Architecture)
The signature architecture of
Paris
☮ Strong and Elegant French
Style
☮ Facades made of sandstone.
☮ Distinctive mansard roofs at
angled at 45° with dormer
windows.
☮ Decorative reliefs and
molding.
☮Rows of windows.
☮ It’s typical for many of these
buildings to host shops and offices
and a balcony on some of the lower
floors.
☮ Consisting of six or seven stories,
the Haussmann-style apartments are
designed to overlook the main
street.
☮ At frst glance, they may seem to
look the same. Nevertheless, taking
social diversity into consideration,
details like gates, balconies,
windows, and decorative stone First floor above street level were the most elite and desirable before
statues vary from floor to floor. elevators.
☮ It is worth noting that only the
lower stories (often between second
and fth story) possess continuous
balconies.
☮ The elite noble is the frst floor
above street level and one of the
most desirable in the days before
elevators.
☮Designed for the aristocracy, the
apartments are fitted with highest
ceilings of the building, the most
elegant rooms, and large balconies
containing Parisian-black wrought-
iron balustrades.
☮ The walls are made of massive
cut stones blocks. Usually the
mansard roof attic rooms were
reserved as the maid’s room, sharing
bathroom facilities with other
apartments on the floor
In recent years, the buildings have received
renewal and an upgrade with the installation
of elevators, thus making the apartments on
upper floors with their city views even more
sought after than those on lower ones,
contrary to the situation in the 20th century.
Standardization of Cityscape
☮ Haussmann’s ideal in city planning
stipulated that all buildings and
boulevard t into strict rules to ensure
general uniformity of cityscape.
☮ The great move towards
standardization, homogeneity, and
repetition of style mark the architectural
language of Haussmann’s Paris.
☮ However, many of the apartments
have been remodeled with modern
interiors and facilities since Haussmann’s
day.
☮ While still preserving the French
classicism of the exterior.
Wide Streets
☮ To combat the spread of
filthy water diseases, cholera and
typhus, Haussmann designed
large avenues and new sewers
for the city.
☮ Napoleon II had seen how
cities like London benefited
from its large parks and elegant
streets
With better streets in the city, Paris demolished most of the squalid neighborhoods and replaced
them with grand tree-lined avenues settling two issues with one solution.
Benefits Of City Renovation
☮ Clean water
☮ Modern sewers for fast growing city.
☮ Lights on the streets with gas lanterns.
☮ Construction of a central market (Les Halles).
☮ Parks, schools, hospitals, asylums, prisons, and administrative buildings planned according to needs.
☮ Broad Boulevards to accommodate free movement of troops.
☮ The avenues also allowed for the easy flow of commerce and so were a boon for business.
Evolution Of Paris
1265
◦Submitted BY
Shubhankar Agarwal
Vrinda Kedia GCAD/16/328
GCAD/17/135