Some of France’s New Homes

Progress, Volume XIII, Issue 10, 1 June 1918, Page 228

Some of France’s New Homes

Many suggestions have been put forward by both England and America with regard to repatriation after the war, but none so far as we have seen present the French view of what the ideal house for the Frenchman is. For the people who will soon again turn their faces homeward four types of building have been designed by French architects at the behest of their Government. These are the village inn or tavern, the farm-house; the peasant home, and the homes for artizans, mechanics, and small merchants. In “L’lllustration (Paris) are set forth many of the plans for these structures. We read: “It is to be remembered that the attempt has been made in each case to keep in mind the charac-

teristics of the region as exhibited in its former type of buildings, and also suitability to the environment. The regions planned for are quite different, varying from the plains of the province of the north to Alsace. , “In a great part of the northern district the village inn, as it is found in.other regions of France, has for a long time tended to disappear. The region, principally industrial, is veined with roads to facilitate the transport of travellers and their merchati disc. The urban centres are easily attainable. Commercial travellers pass quickly, and tourists do not stop. It is sufficient, then, to provide some rooms for modest travellers and a restaurant for the most part frequented by workmen. On the other hand, the thing is to be an expression of the inveteratetendency among the population of the north to group in societies, in' order to give themselves ‘with intensity to vocal or instrumental concerts, archery, bowling, pigeon-flying, and cock and dog-fighting. “With this in view Messrs. Barbotin and Bray have shown plans of two inns, both typical but very different in conception. Mr. Barbotin gives us a

rich note in the shape of a plan perfected after the Flemish style of the plains. All those who have passed through Artois recognize that architecture in its neat lines, impression of firmness, alleviated by vivid colouring, toned down in its general effect, however, but still giving a warm touch in a cold atmosphere that is grayed by coal smoke. _ Under

a firm roof with brilliant tiles, pierced by dormer windows, there is a construction that is flanked by a gable pierced with large windows, the small panes of which admit the light. The windows are mullioned, adorned with flowers placed above them, and the whole produces an effect of equilibrium by means extremely simple. The example given dedicated to Saint Sebastian, patron of archers, is estimated to cost about £920.”

No attempt was made to draw up special styles for the regions between the north and the east, but the committee could not forget Alsace: “For that privileged, land, where the residence of the Boche has been unable to efface the local colour, the, programme looked to an inn. in the mountains, not indeed the inn of tourists, isolated in the forest or

placed on the top of some hill, but one that is part of the village, open to all, continuing the traditions of country hospitality in picturesque times of family residence, and not needing to be modified by the suggestions of modern classic comfort. The construction of an inn in these regions raises difficult technical problems. One must have in mind the cold, the snow, and also the materials available. One must keep at the minimum the chances of conflagration, employ in large measure the wood which is found on the spot, and also conserve heat and provide light. Am additional complication is furnished by the necessity for having regard to agricultural exploitation. Mr. Lambert’s inn, ‘A Saint-Chris-tophe,’ adapts itself well to the: surroundings conceived for it, its form rough in finish in accordance with the environment. It is at the same time more substantial than the Swiss chalet and than the usual hotel of the forest. The cost of the inn itself is about £3,300. The farm has an importance which differs entirely from that of the inn. Its general dispositions are always imposed by the necessities of exploiting conditions, the main lines of which change little, also by the relations which must exist between the house and the soil and the climate— frequency of rain, the trend of the winds and the temperature, the possibilities of drainage, and local resources in material. . Moreover, the plans have to be governed by the. exigencies of hygiene, so frequently violated, of economy, and of custom. Such were the elements of the designers problem:

“From the Meuse to the Vosges one special note dominates. The Lorraine village-houses press concentration to a maximum; the farm-houses arrange themselves side by side along the highway. Thus each Avail serves two families. The dwelling house is naturally in front, while the other farm buildings stretch out to the rear.” Mr. Love offers a strongly built- construction of rough brick, covered with plaster, the base tarred, the roof projecting over all the facades, ‘a bit of Normandy near Calais,’ the whole costing £960. Mr. Sardou offers a plan than which one can hardly imagine anything more modest. The structure is of plain stone, with gables and arrangements for the training of vines. Above the whole of the roof of tiles, when it has gathered its native growth of lichen, will go to the making of a desirable object for the artist painters of Paris. . . . “Mr. Patent, serving in the war as a camoufleur, plans a model house for a blacksmith in the region of Abbeville or Dunkirk. The house which presents an appearance, of length, seems almost to efface itself in the presence of the forge, installed under a monumental hangar, sheltering from the snow and from the rain by what one might call a Tonkenese chapeau. It is, however, difficult to individualize and embellish the house of the millworker, since the architect is hemmed in by limitations of cost. Mr. Goupil wishes to escape that grouping which has been rightly criticized from the points of view of hygiene, comfort, and art. Tie proposes three modest types, which fit well upon a small space of land. In

one he provides the facade in rough or moulded brick or plaster, costing £2BO “Mr. Bois has in mind the small merchant, whom he supposes at the same time to he the possessor of a small estate. The rather elegant form is suggested by the structures which one duds in the valley of tin* Meurthe. “In Alsace Mr. Dory has conceived the house of a locksmith, which is exceedingly seductive. The architect wished to provide a maximum of cheerfulness and of light consistent with a minimum space. The workshop to the left of the entrance is visible from the street. The window is adapted to the accomplishment of work, with an abundance of air. Naturally there would be provided a sign of forged iron, the work of the artisan himself. The cost is £1,060.”