The Romans defeated the Parisii tribe and established a city they named Lutetia. Today, that city is Paris. Traces of Roman architecture remain visible in Paris: if you look at a map, Rue Saint-Jacques cuts right through the middle of the city and was the main Roman road in and out. Remnants of a coliseum, baths, and temples survive and can be visited today. But when the Roman Empire crumbled, its architectural genius disappeared as well, and the Dark Ages were actually a step backwards architecturally.

(1840- early-20th-century)

By 1853, the city had over 1 million people. Only one house in five had running water; of these, most only had plumbing on the ground floor. Napoleon III tapped Baron Haussmann to renovate Paris. The goal was to ease traffic by creating large boulevards and to promote hygiene by integrating a clean water and sewage system, as well as to house the burgeoning upper class. Featuring an intricate cut stone façade, the common layout in a Haussmannian style building is large apartments (200 to 300 m²) with multiple salons de reception, marble fireplaces, chevron parquet floors, high ceilings with elaborate crown moldings, and a grand stairwell with an elevator to the side rather than in the center. Found around the grand boulevards in the center of Paris and in the 8^th, 10^th, 14^th, 15^th,16^th, 17^th, 18^th, 20^th arrondissements.

(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.

Through the Seventies

These years are often seen as a disaster for French architecture. Some terrible mistakes were made, in particular the destruction of Les Halles in central Paris. Building styles from the 1950’s had to meet a large demand for new housing quickly and affordably as almost no new housing in Paris had been created during the previous 20 years. To meet the demand over 2500 buildings were constructed during the decade but Paris did not have a coherent building plan in place so developers were left to their own whims as to the height and size of their buildings with little concern for the surrounding architecture. Developers often prioritised profit over architectural beauty but they provided the Parisian population with well-equipped, low-rent housing. At the same time this was the period of Le Corbusier and his influence can be seen in the luxury buildings of the period which often have large balconies, modern layouts, and lots of light. The majority of buildings from this period have a brick, stone or concrete façade, elevators, low ceilings, carpeting, and small rooms.

Contemporary, 1980 to Present

In the 1980s, President Mitterrand unveiled a new architectural concept to move Paris into the next millennium. His “grands travaux” brought both praise and horror as they evolved, but no one can deny that the final result is a renewed and diverse city. Mitterrand is responsible for commissioning the Grand Louvre’s new glass pyramid entrance (created by I.M. Pei), the move of the Ministry of Finance into a new building (designed by Paul Chemetov), the Grande Arche de la Defense (by Von Spreckelsen), the Cité de la Musique (by Pritzer-prize winner Christian de Portzamparc), the Institut du Monde Arabe (by Jean Nouvel), the Opera Bastille (by the less-accomplished Carlos Ott), and the new library (by Dominique Perrault), now named the Bibliotèque François-Mitterrand.  Apartment buildings from this period offer large windows and storage space, but lack the architectural details of previous styles.