Louis Marie Cordonnier (July 7, 1854,

Haubourdin Haubourdin () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is part of the Métropole Européenne de Lille. Population Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 647 communes of the ...

Nord Nord, a word meaning "north" in several European languages, may refer to: Acronyms * National Organization for Rare Disorders, an American nonprofit organization * New Orleans Recreation Department, New Orleans, Louisiana, US Film and televisi ...

– 1940) was a French architect, born in

and associated principally with

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

and the

French Flanders French Flanders ( ; ; ) is a part of the historical County of Flanders, where Flemish—a Low Franconian dialect cluster of Dutch—was (and to some extent, still is) traditionally spoken. The region lies in the modern-day northern French regi ...

region. He was influenced by Viollet le Duc.

Biography

Son of the architect Jean-Baptiste Cordonnier (1820–1902), Cordonnier studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He returned to Lille for his first major commission, the 1881 town hall of Loos. His chosen style was a strongly regional Flemish Renaissance Revival in brick, with a characteristic

belfry The belfry /ˈbɛlfri/ is a structure enclosing bells for ringing as part of a building, usually as part of a bell tower or steeple. It can also refer to the entire tower or building, particularly in continental Europe for such a tower attached ...

tower. Further civic commissions in the area culminated in Cordonnier's best known work, the

Peace Palace The Peace Palace ( ; ) is an international law administrative building in The Hague, Netherlands. It houses the International Court of Justice (which is the principal judicial body of the United Nations), the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PC ...

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

, seat of the

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. There his neo-Flemish entry won a

design competition A design competition or design contest is a competition in which an entity solicits design proposals from the public for a specified purpose. Architecture An architectural design competition solicits architects to submit design proposals for a b ...

against far more modern competitors like Hendrik Berlage and

Otto Wagner Otto Koloman Wagner (; 13 July 1841 – 11 April 1918) was an Austrian architect, furniture designer and urban planner. He was a leading member of the Vienna Secession movement of architecture, founded in 1897, and the broader Art Nouveau mo ...

. The jury's choice proved controversial enough to fuel lawsuits for seven years. Cordonnier alternated his regional Flemish style with occasional essays in the neo-classical Beaux-Arts style so prevalent in Paris during these years. In Lille the architect's Flemish Chamber of Commerce building of 1910–21 stands twenty paces away from his Beaux-Arts

Opéra de Lille The Opéra de Lille is a neo-classical opera house, built from 1907 to 1913 and officially inaugurated in 1923. Closed for renovation in 1998 it reopened in 2003 for Lille 2004. The Opéra de Lille is a member of the European Network for Opera, ...

of 1903–14, its design said to be inspired by Garnier's Paris Opera. In the wake of the widespread destruction of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in this part of France, Cordonnier took the lead in efforts to rebuild civic buildings and local churches in strictly traditional style, although not averse to using structural concrete. Towards the end of his career he was joined in practice by his son, Louis-Stanislas Cordonnier (1884–1960).

Work

His work includes: * the

, built 1903-1914 * Notre-Dame-de-Lille Pellevoisin, Lille, 1906–1911 * the

, 1907–1913 * series of seaside mansions and villas at

Neufchâtel-Hardelot Neufchâtel-Hardelot (; ) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France about south of Boulogne. The commune's western border is the English Channel. History Harriet Quimby, the first woman to fly acros ...

, circa 1908-1912 * Chamber of Commerce de Lille, 1910–1921 * basilica and memorial building,

Notre Dame de Lorette Notre Dame de Lorette (), also known as Ablain St.-Nazaire French Military Cemetery, is the world's largest French military cemetery.Basilica of St. Thérèse, Lisieux, the second-largest pilgrimage site in France, after

Lourdes Lourdes (, also , ; ) is a market town situated in the Pyrenees. It is part of the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. Prior to the mid-19th century, the town was best known for its Château fort, a ...

, 1923–1959 * Church of St. Vaast,

Béthune Béthune ( ; archaic and ''Bethwyn'' historically in English) is a town in northern France, Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department. Geography Béthune is located in the Provinces of Fran ...

, 1924–1927 * Church of St. Vaast, Bailleul, 1935 * ''Grands bureaux de la Société des Mines'' headquarters, in

Lens, Pas-de-Calais Lens (; ) is a city in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. It is one of the main towns of Hauts-de-France along with Lille, Valenciennes, Amiens, Roubaix, Tourcoing, Arras and Douai. The inhabitants are called ''Lensois'' (). Metro ...

, with landscape architect Achille Duchêne, 1928–1930,Lens Tourisme
Grands bureaux de la Société des Mines. now part of Artois University * four of the

Belfries of Belgium and France The Belfries of Belgium and France are a group of 56 historical buildings designated by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites, in recognition of the civic (rather than church) Belfry (architecture), belfries serving as an architectural manifestation of ...

designated by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

as a

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

. Of the 23 such municipal towers within

Nord-Pas-de-Calais Nord-Pas-de-Calais (; ; West Flemish: ''Nôord-Nauw van Kales'') was a former regions of France, administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new Regions of France, region Hauts-de-France. It consisted of the ...

and the

Somme __NOTOC__ Somme or The Somme may refer to: Places *Somme (department), a department of France * Somme, Queensland, Australia * Canal de la Somme, a canal in France *Somme (river), a river in France Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Somme'' (book), ...

, Cordonnier designed those in Loos,

Dunkirk Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...

, Comines, and

Armentières Armentières (; , ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord department in the Hauts-de-France region in northern France. It is part of the Métropole Européenne de Lille. The motto of the town is ''Pauvre mais fi� ...

Gallery

File:Lille opéra.jpg,

File:Basilique Sainte-Thérèse de Lisieux-2876.jpg, Basilica of St. Thérèse, Lisieux File: Chambre de commerce - Lille - 2003-21-09.jpg, Chamber of Commerce, Lille File:Peace Palace by Night.jpg,

File:Bailleul_Saint_Vaast_R02.jpg, Church of St Vaast, Bailleul

Sources

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cordonnier, Louis 1854 births 1940 deaths 19th-century French architects 20th-century French architects People from Nord (French department) Members of the Académie des beaux-arts