A war minister, two idle amateur builders and an eccentric designer: the true story of the tile vaults in the north of France
Iborra Bernad, Federico
Departmento de Composición Arquitectónica, Universitat Politècnica de València, Spain.
Abstract:
Within the history of construction, the figure of the Count d'Espie and his popular book on making fireproof buildings (1754) was a fundamental milestone for the popularization of the technique of tile vaults in the center and north of France. Less well-known is the precedent of its pioneer introduction in the stables of the Château de Bizy (1743), built by the Marshal de Belle-Isle, former governor of the Languedoc, as well as the repercussion that it had for the new Ministries of War and Navy. Behind the design of Bizy was the architect Pierre Contant d'Ivry who, along with Gabriel, was one of the most prestigious designers at the court of Louis XV. The release in press of the new technique through two articles published in Le Mercure de France in 1750, the works directed in the lordship of Condé-sur-l'Escaut by the young prince Emmanuel de Croÿ-Solre -married with a niece of the Marshal de Belle-Isle-, and the publication of the book of the Count d'Espie -which Croÿ-Solre himself revised and promoted within the court- will achieve that tile vaults were definitely incorporated into the French constructive repertoire.
Keywords: Tile vaults; History of Construction; French Enlightenment; Count d’Espie; Pierre Contant d’Ivry.