Notes about the Palais des Machines of 1889 in Paris: space, structure and ornament
The Palais des Machines of the Paris Universal Exposition of 1889, designed by the architect Charles Louis Ferdinand Dutert (1845-1906) and the engineer Victor Contamin (1840-1893), is undoubtedly an icon of the 19th century architecture: its powerful spatiality, its portentous structure and its str...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Universidad Politécnica de Valencia
2018-04-01
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| Series: | VLC Arquitectura |
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| Online Access: | https://polipapers.upv.es/index.php/VLC/article/view/7713 |
| _version_ | 1811263536847912960 |
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| author | Oscar Linares de la Torre |
| author_facet | Oscar Linares de la Torre |
| author_sort | Oscar Linares de la Torre |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The Palais des Machines of the Paris Universal Exposition of 1889, designed by the architect Charles Louis Ferdinand Dutert (1845-1906) and the engineer Victor Contamin (1840-1893), is undoubtedly an icon of the 19th century architecture: its powerful spatiality, its portentous structure and its straightforward tectonics have rightly received high praise by critics and architects from the second half of the 20th century. However, critical tradition and historiography from the end of the last century have frequently offered a biased interpretation of this work, aimed at underlining certain architectonic values for then presenting them as a direct product of the author’s will. The aim of this article is to explain, altogether and with maximum transparency, how the conjunction between certain circumstantial issues and the will/ability of both authors made possible the construction of one of the most important works of the nineteenth-century architecture. To achieve this, the three most celebrated architectural aspects of the building are analysed: the huge scale of the central space, the particular structural system chosen and the uneven usage of ornament. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T19:47:07Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-00b447b42e0849a18fe6b2ec71a967b2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2341-3050 2341-2747 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T19:47:07Z |
| publishDate | 2018-04-01 |
| publisher | Universidad Politécnica de Valencia |
| record_format | Article |
| series | VLC Arquitectura |
| spelling | doaj.art-00b447b42e0849a18fe6b2ec71a967b22022-12-22T03:18:55ZengUniversidad Politécnica de ValenciaVLC Arquitectura2341-30502341-27472018-04-0151336110.4995/vlc.2018.77136767Notes about the Palais des Machines of 1889 in Paris: space, structure and ornamentOscar Linares de la Torre0Escola Tècnica Superior d'Arquitectura de Barcelona Universitat Politècnica de CatalunyaThe Palais des Machines of the Paris Universal Exposition of 1889, designed by the architect Charles Louis Ferdinand Dutert (1845-1906) and the engineer Victor Contamin (1840-1893), is undoubtedly an icon of the 19th century architecture: its powerful spatiality, its portentous structure and its straightforward tectonics have rightly received high praise by critics and architects from the second half of the 20th century. However, critical tradition and historiography from the end of the last century have frequently offered a biased interpretation of this work, aimed at underlining certain architectonic values for then presenting them as a direct product of the author’s will. The aim of this article is to explain, altogether and with maximum transparency, how the conjunction between certain circumstantial issues and the will/ability of both authors made possible the construction of one of the most important works of the nineteenth-century architecture. To achieve this, the three most celebrated architectural aspects of the building are analysed: the huge scale of the central space, the particular structural system chosen and the uneven usage of ornament.https://polipapers.upv.es/index.php/VLC/article/view/7713Espacioestructuraornamentoproyecto |
| spellingShingle | Oscar Linares de la Torre Notes about the Palais des Machines of 1889 in Paris: space, structure and ornament VLC Arquitectura Espacio estructura ornamento proyecto |
| title | Notes about the Palais des Machines of 1889 in Paris: space, structure and ornament |
| title_full | Notes about the Palais des Machines of 1889 in Paris: space, structure and ornament |
| title_fullStr | Notes about the Palais des Machines of 1889 in Paris: space, structure and ornament |
| title_full_unstemmed | Notes about the Palais des Machines of 1889 in Paris: space, structure and ornament |
| title_short | Notes about the Palais des Machines of 1889 in Paris: space, structure and ornament |
| title_sort | notes about the palais des machines of 1889 in paris space structure and ornament |
| topic | Espacio estructura ornamento proyecto |
| url | https://polipapers.upv.es/index.php/VLC/article/view/7713 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT oscarlinaresdelatorre notesaboutthepalaisdesmachinesof1889inparisspacestructureandornament |