Change and the Distribution of Design

Abstract

In Januari 1699 Jules Hardouin Mansart, Superintendent of Buildings and “Premier Architecte” to Louis-le-Grand, king of France, put his signature to the design for what we now know as the Place Vendome. (fig.1) His design included a monumental façade wall of exquisite proportions in the neo−classical manner. The square, including the façade wall, was subsequently built by the city of Paris on request of the King. But no buildings were behind the façade. The land behind was for sale. In the next decade noblemen, bankers, tax farmers, and other prominent and wealthy citizens who served the king in various administrative and financial functions built their houses there with their own architects. These buildings kept changing and adapting over time. But the façade as Mansart built it is still what we see today.

Citation

Habraken, N.J. (2005), "Change and the Distribution of Design", Open House International, Vol. 30 No. 1, pp. 6-12. https://doi.org/10.1108/OHI-01-2005-B0003