Exquisite Parisian Penthouse: A Rare Gem in Saint-Germain-des-Prés

(1100-1526)

During the early Middle Ages, the people of Paris poached entire sections of the sturdier Roman walls to use for their own buildings. You can still find roman stones in the cellars of the medieval half-timbered buildings found mostly in the 4th arrondissement but also in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 6^th.

Interiors have low pier and beam ceilings, walls are half-timber or exposed stone, and the layout tends to have small and irregular sized rooms. These Pain de Bois buildings are structured around a staircase with a wooden or stone load-bearing axis at the center and a cellar of vaulted caves, both of which make installing an elevator in these buildings almost impossible.

Religious buildings also survive, beginning with the Romanesque style (round arched windows) and then evolving into Gothic style (pointed arches, cross vaults and flying buttresses). 

(1893-1917)

Art Nouveau was a brief fin-de-siecle architectural trend lasting approximately from 1893 to the beginning of World War I. Best known for the style is Hector Guimard. His curving “cigarette smoke” line had already made waves on buildings in the elegant 16th arrondissement, but his Art Nouveau was motivated by a social conscience, much like the Arts and Crafts Movement in Britain. Hired in 1896 to design the metro entrances, he leapt at the chance to design something beautiful for the masses. But when Guimard unveiled his brilliant Métro work in 1900 everyone hated it. The shiny green color was considered unpatriotic, too close to Prussian green, and the writhing insect-like metalwork was much too weird for the public. Time has defeated his critics however, and Guimard’s Art Nouveau Métro entrances have become one of the city’s trademarks.

(1918-39)

At the end of World War I, Paris was exuberant—the world had just survived “the war to end all wars. High-speed ocean liners crisscrossed the Atlantic; Surrealism shocked the art world; radios poured out jazz music. The Modern Age had arrived. Trying to express this freedom and movement, architects responded to the jazzy rhythm with angular shapes reminiscent of the new cruise ships. World War II put an end to Art Deco’s optimism and the less-flamboyant lines of pure Modernism took over. Factories from this time have converted into residential use. Turning a loft into a livable space requires consulting an architect. In general, remodeling the interior of a loft will not require approval from building co-owners but any changes affecting the exterior of the building will need building co-owner and city approval.