Nicolas Durand (architect)

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Porte Sainte-Croix inChâlons-en-Champagne(built 1770)
Town hall ( Hôtel de Ville ) of Châlons (built 1772)

Nicolas Durand (* 1739 in Paris ; † February 25, 1830 in Châlons-en-Champagne ) was a French architect. As the city architect of Châlons and architect of the province of Champagne des Ancien Régime , he designed several important buildings.

life and work

Nicolas Durand was initially a simple stonemason , but then rose, initially to foreman; After studying architecture, the young man drew the attention of influential mentors who finally recommended him to the director of the Champagne province , Gaspard-Louis Rouillé d'Orfeuil . This took him into his service.

In Rouillé d'Orfeuil's service he was first urban architect of Châlons-en-Champagne , then Architecte des Dames de France in Louvois and finally architect of the generals of Champagne. In this role he constructed the Langres town hall , the Reims theater (1773), the Chaumont barracks and the Verzenay church (1786).

In Châlons he led the construction work of the Intendance (today prefecture, completed in 1759) according to plans by Jean-Gabriel Legendres , those of the Pont de Vaux (1767), the Porte Sainte-Croix (1770), the ballroom (1771, according to plans by Coluel) and the Church of Juvigny (1784). Durand also built the town hall, which still exists today, in Châlons (1772) and an infantry barracks near the Porte Saint-Jacques (1784).

In the French Revolution , after his patrons and friends had fled or died, Durand was also threatened himself, especially by his title as architect of the Dames de France , and only escaped the scaffold with the support of his workers. After the revolution he was no longer active, albeit in good physical condition and in full possession of his mental powers until his death.

literature

  • Marie Antignac: Recherches sur l'architecture théâtrale du XVIIIè siècle à partir de l'œuvre de Nicolas Durand (1739–1830): théâtres de Châlons-sur-Marne et de Reims . Clermont-Ferrand 1986, OCLC 880172199 (French).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Amédée Lhote: Biography Châlonnaise . avec documents inédits. Slatkine Reprints, Geneva 1972, p. 122 (French, limited preview in Google Book Search - reprint of the first edition from 1870).
personal data
SURNAME Durand, Nicolas
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French architect
DATE OF BIRTH 1739
PLACE OF BIRTH Paris
DATE OF DEATH February 25, 1830
Place of death Châlons-en-Champagne