Introduction The content of this book is WIde ranging and the tOPICS that we touch upon are numerous.

OIl1>OIITl ... NO BfLOW ;

We are nOl attempllng a history of architecture, not even the history of 19th-century housing In

The Ih ... major elements

330 pages. nor trying to explain every architectural and histoncal detail of the 30 featured housing types, each of which are worth several PhD theses In over two yea rs of fu ll-time work, our ambitions have become simultaneously more humble and more focused We are fasCinated by the complexity of urban structures, and all our endeavours aspire to communicate thiS paSSion. The Initial Idea of the book was not al all histOrical We were looking for the best way 10 analyse and represenllhe relationship bet\oVeen

architecture and the urban fabriC through types graphically and analytically Only later dId we

reahse that thIS would probably be best done through a selectIon 01 19th- and early 20th-century hOUSIng schemes. The prOject was propelled by the convictIon that the presented Iypologles 'Nere worth the effort of a comprehensIVe contemporary analySIS - Intelhgent enough to stlmuJate both us and others Their value as repetitive elements of a stili eXisting urban fabnc elevates them to more than Just historic remnants of a previous era or the means for cntlqUlng and JustifYing something else. We strongly beheve that Improvement and innovation are based on the understanding (and not ImItation) of the hlstonc context. and we also believe that thiS context has not changed as drastically as sometimes claImed: you do not have to be a reViSIOnist to reahse that In terms of urban enVlfonmentthe postwar decades have not necessanly produced more appropnate models than the older schemes Included. The comparatIVe analYSIS of traditIonal With contemporary prOjects might be understood as an IntroducllOn to thiS debate This book With ItS analytical and graphiC content. encompassing architectural draWings as well as photographs. aenal views and archive matenal. IS Inevitably addressed to a rather specialised public. We do. however. hope that the tOpiC and ItS presentation Will be of Interest not only to an audience of academics. architects and urban deSigners. and even some pnvate afiCionados. but Will engage a wide range of other profeSSions In the building Industry. whether they be developers. planners or house bUilders. The Importance of multldlsclphnary collaboration IS not only one of our departing Wishes. but Indeed an outcome of our research.

thal definB our built e nvironmtlnl ; lhe

. t ...., Ihe courtyard and the dwelling.

111111 liD 11 11

Courtyards and Passages LOCATION: FAUBOURG SAINT-ANTOINE, PARIS

DATE: 1750- 1900 (COUR DE LA MAISON BRUL~E ) Th~'

k.

11 urban fabnc )1 th ·! /aubourg!

f' Jtx urg ""

r tI

IUI~kr

rod

~

Ill,; :lrtIhedwallo Pans sec:a.eO! y. and ,IS c- '8duI!IIv expeI:toog :;y boun :lanes. the )lion offBuboutglS.~,

town W8I dUflflQ \he r IInd 0 the 14

IfY

I

1 Of KIng 01;.181 V al11'111

ana"

j

the

-".,.

"m

:hh OB IUI'V JusI )8'yOrIO area h'ld been Jfmed whose built

tune From today"s pOlf'n of YMIW. the 6tuoowps v.e-e

b:)u 'Idar, ~?ari3 III

plot I1ItJO 2.50 ~_218 n.~rooms/l'la;

!IIgnc

~ulallanes,

!lit

Feu )OUrS Sa,nt ·An\OIn being the

'Id 1T":ISt Import< Jt one No :leIflO pert 0

h ; j a ddf -ent f"

lY$ten

"le

Ofho.)fIy I1tegraled ,ma PanI '" 1860 under Bar

bo "9 J

liaUSSlTtMll'l but severall1treets he... k8")llh8lr X'lglnaI

rv 10,'!ne example be'ng Rue UU Faubou rg SaInt

walled oty A I8r}II comm "Mty of 81'1 Faubc..JIgSamt-AnlO!n8ln 1471 dfterLo

AntOln

pa rt Ul ill ty la .... oufilb!e WK stalus 10 the 16'" :len ts ol lltnd

II6K\ 10

Ba5l11le In the el1stem part of \hQ CIty

pIot~: 83_1 ~

die fortifICatIOnS

'ekltrveand

ifl regard 10 the shape of tha CIty ill 8 prease pclmlln

....

typological group,

Th BaSIJIIe 1011 8SS was bull as part 01 th new

•

Xi

)n

J the :;;.;1 '"

Xlgrar eda

511

155

COURTYARDS AND PASSAGES

O'NI1ed by the Abbey Saint AntlJ/ne des Champs.

The

lEfT : The schematic

IocaltradltlOl1 prevailed for a long lime and even today,

mIIP from 1711 5hows

over 500 years later. many courtyards and passages 511n

fltuboorg Saint-Antoine

house lumllura workshopS and artisans' bleliers

aa major thoroughlllre

AAhough the term faubourg IS techn!calty apphcable

tolt..east.

to all IOfmef Panstan suburbs.lOCIudlng the -n-)II ~stem

ones. It IS normally Used!Of worl"ng-c\ass

"~OWLlfT , ln

1834_

areas These gave shelter 10 both Immtgrants from the

the developmftnts of ttle

French provinces whoohen sen~ around Ihe tram stations 01 thell amval. and 10 struggling PariSIans on

fllubourg still tolao-d

search 01 affordable accommodation.

On several

scene 01 SOCIal unrest

occasions. the faubourgwas the

e predominantly linear

I ~

Ioglcalong the old

~tln" -.u -,I

traffic route • •

and uprisings. and It became home 10 an IncrOOSlngly large community 01 lacto!), workers As IS the case for the Faubou rg Salnt-AntOlne. the term usually deSCri bed a mixed-use enwonmenl. Includmg not only reSidential use and commercoal actIVIties. but also manufactunng and Indust!)'

URBAN CONFIGURATION The el.lOQiIted !Ofm 01 thE pi lIs along the

faubourg IS the result of several Interrelated factors

shape of the fOflTle!"

Mos!lmportantly. they follow the

fields whICh was a COf\Sequence of the mosl effooenl subdMSIOn logic As already mentioned. the streets of the Iaubourg themserws v..:!fe ,nltlalty rural lanes and

On

the narrow and long helds that bordered them ~re

large plot w.th the preciOUSst... t frontaga

gradually\fansformed Into building pIo.s. (Ner time. th 3

difference compared With these two typOIogoes IS.

predommantly geometnc explanation was accentuated

however. urban. while the JaPi""lese and Argertln.an

by a oommeroal one. based on the CfUCIal .mponance

examples emerged In the conlext of a gnd w.th

01 haVlng a street frontage In an urban 8Owonment

predeflned block sizes. the faubourg IS by del,noloon

dominated by economiC actIVIty

The elongated plot

shape therefore fo l lo~ the same logiC as several other typotogUH In thiS book such

as Ihe kyo-machIY8

an Inherently hnear structure

At Ihe lime 01 the flfsl

construC1>ons. the hml erland of all the plots was,1 rural. The current Irregular block sl ructure has only

(see p 54) or C8S8 cflonlO (see p 24) and prOVlded an

evolved over time under Increasing populatlOl1 pressure,

affordable way to connect the Intenor of a relatIVely

when several linear developmenl cen tres grew togethe r

Rue du Fauboutg

Saint-Antolnewith ttle monument of Place dol .. Baatilla

In the background.

156

COURTYARDS AND PASSAGES

along new pe rpendicu lar streets or along p re-exisllng

east -west ax is from FUrte Malllotln the west

rural lanes. Faubou rg Salnt-An tOlne IS a particularly

01 Paris to Place des Nations in the east

clear examp le of th is Ioand of layout due to ItS age and the early establishment of an Important agglomeration

AR CHITECTURE

Unlike other faubourgs whose cadastra l orig ins were

The Caur de la Malson Brules or Courtya rd 01 the

heaVily altered dunng the 19th and 20th centunes, ItS

Burnt House Isee line draWings pp 160-1) IS a typica l

morphology rema ined almost Intact and naturally,

example of a plot along the Rue du Faubourg Samt-

although not recllllnearly. extended the major

AntOlne. In terms of function as much as phYSical form In 1750. MonSieur Moreau. a timber tradesman, bUi lt a house Wi th a porch along the Slreel The lenced and part ially covered mlerior of the plot was used as a garden and timber warehouse that was accessed through Ihe porch. The remaming areas were rented to several craftsmen, hnked to Ihe production of furnl\ure from the timber supply Over the next 200 years. the estate changed ownership severa l limes. but remained a mixed-use enVIronment that prOVided the owners with a rental mcome from apartments. atel iers and shops The SpaCiOUS house of the owner was initia lly situated In the fight-hand Wing behmd the front building. Later on. thiS part of the estate developed Into further office space and a smaller detached house was built to the rear of the plot. oPPOsite the main entrance BUilding heights g radually Increased. and the slreet- front lng

AeOVE lEFT: VM:!wfrom the courtyard of Cour de la

Maison

Bru l~a

towards

the st reet.

LEFT: View from the

courtyard of COOl dela Maison Bruh!ie towards the rear of the plot.

structure was extended upw-afds

)f\

several occaSIOnS

CLOCKWIU FROM

The ground floor was used as a shop and the upper

TOP LEFT: Behindthe

levels were rented tocraftsmeo and theIr famofles

courtyard I8C8de aI Coo.

has not drastlcalty changed_ even though the ovvners no longer lwe"' the Me The Coor de la M8ISOf1 Brulee SIlO encompasses vanous lunctlons. as do most of Its fletghbours on both sides of the faubocirg, WIth a balanced propcrtlOfl of apartments. ofi>ces, workshops and shops Sever lof

de la Maison Bru"', the

Today. the

~tuatlon

wall of the neighbourirljj 5trueture can be seen

A passage OIl the

southern side aI Ruedu

the larger strUClures penetrate the whole block from the

Fauboorg Saint-Antoine.

Rue du Faubourg Samt-Antome to one of the smaller

It penetrates the whole

parallel streets. and are therefore calledPIJssages

From an architectural pomt of VIew. the courtyards and passages share sell{!ral Slmllafl(leS w Ith Ihe cIte typology lsee Sanllago.

Ote. p 144) HO\o\l8V6r, unlIke

buildinll block and concentrates specialised lumitureshop$ at ground level.

these 19th-centu/Y examples that 'Were pre-planned solutIons for workers' hOUSIng. the faubourg area 15

A former indu5trial

faSCInatmg due to ItS spatllll dwerSlty rather than for lIs

courtyard which ha,

aesthet>c coherence The mix of funchOllS 10 Ids 10 a

......

V8fY dlfferem character and orcuLlhon pattem of V

been transformed into """",.

central courtyard space, end empha$IMS tile comb" ld Quality of calm lIVIng and workilg cood'tlOl'ls much

A residential courtyard.

t5:

COURTYARDS AND PASSAGES

more than the commun