Wikipedia

Pierre Debeaux

Pierre Debeaux (19 July 1925 – 22 January 2001) was a French modernist architect and polymath. He is known for buildings such as the observatory of the Pic du Midi de Bigorre, the Jacques Vion fire station [fr] and the Monument to the Glory of the Resistance [fr] in Toulouse, and the Pradier house [fr] in the Tarn – both of which are registered French national landmarks. He is described in the archives of the Haute-Garonne as "the most inventive architect of his generation".[1][2][3]

Pierre Debeaux
Born
Pierre Amédée Bernard Debeaux

(1925-07-09)9 July 1925
Mazères-sur-Salat,
Died22 January 2001(2001-01-22) (aged 75)
Toulouse, Haute-Garonne, France
NationalityFrench
OccupationArchitect
BuildingsJacques Vion fire station [fr]
Monument to the Glory of the Resistance [fr]
Pradier house [fr]
ProjectsPic du Midi de Bigorre
Signature
Pierre Debeaux at Villa Pradier (1978)

Early life an education edit

Pierre Amédée Bernard Debeaux was born on July 19, 1925, in Mazères-sur-Salat. His father, François Jean Bernard Debeaux (1901–1984) was an electrical engineer who taught industrial design at both the Ecole des Beaux-arts and the Lycée Pierre-de-Fermat in Toulouse. The Debeaux family lived in Toulouse and had a second home in Saint-Denis-les-Martel in the Lot.[4]

He attended the Lycée Pierre-de-Fermat in Toulouse from 1935–1943 and graduated with a baccalaureate in mathematics, followed by a baccalaureate in philosophy under the tutelage of Jean-Pierre Vernant. He remained a fervent admirer of Vernant's Hellenism throughout his life, and was also influenced by Vernant's involvement in the Resistance.[citation needed]

Debeaux obtained a degree in architecture from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in June 1950 with a project for an agricultural tool forge. He was awarded the prize for the best national diploma and became a registered architect in 1950.[5][6]

During the 1960s and 1970s, he embarked on several major research trips to discover different cultures and heritages: Siberia and China (1966); Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, Brazil and Bolivia (1967 and 1971); India, Nepal and Kashmir (1968); Mexico (1969); Siberia and Japan (1970); Indonesia and Sri Lanka (1972); and Turkey (1974). These journeys added an Orientalist influence to Debeaux's work.[7]

Work and career edit

From 1954 to 1972, Debeaux was part of the "Atelier des Architectes Associés", which he co-founded. He devoted much of his time to research into harmonic relationships and three-dimensional structures. Between 1966 and 1989, he filed a series of patents in France, Europe and the United States for three-dimensional structures.[8]

He is known for buildings such as the observatory of the Pic du Midi de Bigorre, built between 1951–1966 (Debeaux was only 26 when he began the project); the Jacques Vion fire station (1966–1972) and the Monument à la Gloire de la Résistance (1965–1971) in Toulouse, and the landmarked Pradier house (1974–1978) in the Tarn.[9][10][11] Charlotte Perriand was commissioned to design unique furniture pieces for the Pradier house. These pieces were sold at Sotheby's in 2020.[12][13]

In 1958 Debeaux became a professor at the Ecole des Beaux-arts in Toulouse.[14]

In 1973 he was awarded the Charles-Henri Besnard [fr] prize for the innovative metal roof structure design of the Jacques Vion fire station.[15]

In 1981, he won the Académie d'Architecture's "Beau Béton" competition for the Pradier house.[16]

Debeaux made artistic and scientific contributions to the Musée des Augustins between 1965 and 1992.[14]

Personal life edit

Pierre Debeaux and his partner Elisabeth Cardo had one daughter, Charlotte, born in Toulouse in 1985.[citation needed]

Death and legacy edit

Debeaux suffered a stroke in November 1997. He died in Toulouse in January 2001.[14]

Debeaux's Pradier house and Monument to the Glory of the Resistance are protected French national landmarks.[10] An initiative was begun in 2023 to add the Jacques Vion fire station to the French register of protected monuments.[17][18][19]

Gallery edit

  •  
    Pic du Midi de Bigorre observatory
  •  
    Water tower (Chateau d'eau) of the Marchant Hospital
  •  
    Musée des Augustins
  •  
    Jacques Vion fire station, principal façade
  •  
    Jacques Vion fire station, "grande halle"
  •  
    Jacques Vion fire station, structural details (grande halle)
  •  
    Jacques Vion fire station, gymnasium
  •  
    Jacques Vion firestation, balcony detail

Partial list of works edit

  • 1956 Citroën building (with Atelier des Architectes Associés)[20][a]
  • 1956 Extension of groupe scolaire [fr] Jules Julien (with Roger Brunerie)[a]
  • 1956 Groupe scolaire Molière, Saint Cyprien, Toulouse (with Roger Brunerie)[a]
  • 1956 Primary school, Jolimont, Toulouse (with Roger Brunerie)[21][b]
  • 1956 Primary school, Sept Deniers, Toulouse (with Roger Brunerie)[b]
  • 1957 Fabre kindergarden, Toulouse[b]
  • 1959 Martin house, Engomer[b]
  • 1961 Martin house, Castelnaudary[b]
  • 1961 Recherche Institute, Bagnère de Bigorre[a]
  • 1963 Water tower, route d'Espagne[a]
  • 1969 Villa Chanfreau, Cote Pavée, Toulouse[22][a]
  • 1971 Monument to the Glory of the Resistance, Toulouse (with Atelier des Architectes Associés)[23][c]
  • 1975 Observatory, Pic du Midi de Bigorre[a]
  • 1967 Jacques Vion fire station, Toulouse[24][a][b][c]
  • 1969 Vessières apartment building, Toulouse[b]
  • 1970 Pham Huu Chan house, Clermont-le-Fort[b]
  • 1977 Pradier house, Lavaur[c]

Notes edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Architecture Contemporaine Remarquable (Label ACR) [Outstanding Contemporary Architecture]
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Bâtiments du XXe en Midi toulousain (Bâtiments remarquables listés dans l’inventaire de la DRAC ) [20th c. Architecture in Midi-Toulouse]
  3. ^ a b c Protégée au titre des Monument Historiques (MH) [Protected Historic Monument]

Publications edit

  • Gruet, Stéphane (2005). Éditions POÏESIS (ed.). Pierre Debeaux, architecte (1955–2001): L'artiste et le géomètre. p. 104. ISBN 978-2951895317.[8]
  • Marfaing, Jean-Loup; Papillault, Rémi (2013). Presses Universitaires du Mirail (ed.). Du moderne au brutalisme, 13 villas à l’épreuve du temps. p. 167. ISBN 978-2-8107-0268-8.
  • Saint-Pierre, Raphaëlle (2013). Norma, Renne (ed.). Villas 60-70 en France. p. 320. ISBN 978-2-9155-4242-4.

References edit

  1. ^ Armand, Sophie (2016). "189 J Fonds Pierre Debeaux architecte (1925–2001)". Archives Départementales de la Haute-Garonne (in French). Retrieved 2023-06-24.
  2. ^ Patrimoines Midi-Pyrénées , Archives d'architectes. Patrimoines Midi-Pyrénées. Toulouse: Conseil régional Midi-Pyrénées. 2013.
  3. ^ Faham, Bryan (2023-09-16). "La caserne Vion, symbole des Trente Glorieuses, devient un monument historique". www.lejournaltoulousain.fr (in French). Retrieved 2023-09-16.
  4. ^ Saint-Pierre, Raphaëlle (2019-03-06). "LES GÉOMÉTRIES VIRTUOSES D'UN MODERNE". AMC (in French).
  5. ^ "Sauver le chef-d'œuvre de Pierre Debeaux". AMC (in French). 2023-01-31.
  6. ^ "Pierre Debeaux, dans l'ombre de Le Corbusier". ladepeche.fr (in French). Retrieved 2023-07-09.
  7. ^ Gruet, Stéphane (2005). Pierre Debeaux, architecte: L'artiste et le géomètre (1925–2001). Éditions POÏESIS. p. 104. ISBN 978-2951895317.
  8. ^ a b "Pierre Debeaux architecte (1925-2001) : l'artiste et le géomètre = the artist and the geometer". primo.getty.edu. Retrieved 2023-07-10.
  9. ^ "PSS / Mémorial de la Résistance (Toulouse, France)". www.pss-archi.eu. Retrieved 2023-07-08.
  10. ^ a b "Maison dite " Maison Pradier ", due à l'architecte Pierre Debeaux". www.pop.culture.gouv.fr. Retrieved 2023-07-09.
  11. ^ Gruet, Stéphane. "ArchitectureWeek – Culture – Fire Station in Toulouse – 2005.0921". www.architectureweek.com. Retrieved 2023-07-10.
  12. ^ Akkam, Alia (2020-12-03). "A Major New Auction of Charlotte Perriand Works Is Set to Take Place in Paris This Month". Architectural Digest. Retrieved 2023-07-10.
  13. ^ Evans, Christina Ohly (2020-10-21). "How to pick up a rare piece of Charlotte Perriand furniture". Financial Times. Retrieved 2023-07-13.
  14. ^ a b c Gruet, Stéphane (2005). Pierre Debeaux, architecte (1925–2001): L'artiste et le géomètre [The Artist and the Geometer]. Éditions POÏESIS. pp. 101–102. ISBN 978-2951895317.
  15. ^ "Prix Charles-Henri Besnard délivré à Pierre Debeaux pour ses travaux sur un type nouveau de charpentes tridirectionnelles : correspondances, mémoire". Archives départementales de la Haute-Garonne (in French). Retrieved 2023-07-12.
  16. ^ Vanacker, Céline (May 2014). "La maison Pradier, Lavaur, Etude d'inventaire" (PDF). www.ville-lavaur.fr. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
  17. ^ "Toulouse: a petition for the Vion fire station, testimony to the 1960s, to become a historic monument". newsinfrance.com. 2023-02-01. Retrieved 2023-07-10.
  18. ^ "Caserne Jacques Vion de Toulouse : Lettre ouverte à Madame la Ministre de la Culture – Sites & Monuments". www.sitesetmonuments.org. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
  19. ^ "Toulouse : la caserne de pompiers Jacques-Vion, chef-d'œuvre de Pierre Debeaux, doit être sauvée". Libération (in French). Retrieved 2023-07-08.
  20. ^ "Label 'Outstanding contemporary architecture'". www.culture.gouv.fr. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
  21. ^ "Architecture du XXe siècle en Midi Toulousain" [20th c. Architecture in Midi-Toulouse]. www.culture.gouv.fr (in French). Retrieved 2023-07-12.
  22. ^ "Villa Chanfreau". www.pop.culture.gouv.fr. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
  23. ^ "The historical monuments". www.culture.gouv.fr. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
  24. ^ "Toulouse : la caserne Vion inscrite au titre des monuments historiques". France 3 Occitanie (in French). 2023-09-15. Retrieved 2023-09-16.

External links edit

 
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