Edmond Jean-Baptiste Paulin (; 10 September 1848 - 27 November 1915) was a French architect. As a young man, he became known for his reconstruction of the

Baths of Diocletian The Baths of Diocletian (Latin: ''Thermae Diocletiani'', Italian: ''Terme di Diocleziano'') were public baths in ancient Rome. Named after emperor Diocletian and built from AD 298 to 306, they were the largest of the imperial baths. The project w ...

. Later he taught at the National School of Fine Arts, and designed pavilions for two world expositions.

Early years

Edmond Jean-Baptiste Paulin was born in Paris on 10 September 1848. He entered the

École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in nor ...

(National School of Fine Arts), where he studied under Louis-Hippolyte Lebas and Léon Ginain. He made eight successive attempts to win the

Prix de Rome The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...

for architecture. He won the second of two second prizes awarded in 1874 for the Grand Prix de Rome. He won the first prize in 1875 for a design for "a courthouse for Paris." His teachers were listed as Paccard, Léon Vaudoyer and Ginain.

Rome

Paulin lived in Rome at the Villa Medici from 28 January 1876 to 31 December 1879. He completed the reconstruction of the

in Rome that had been initiated by Emmanuel Brown. His drawings and plans of the ancient ruins of Rome were meticulous, particularly those of the Baths of Diocletian complex, large parts of which were being destroyed by urban renewal projects. His drawings showed the baths as they had been around 300 AD. His drawing of a cross-section of the baths illustrated the way in which the Romans used passive solar design. His work, published in 1890, influenced contemporary projects such as the design of Grand Central Station in New York.

Later career

On his return to France, Paulin was appointed inspector of civil buildings. He was government architect responsible for the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Public Works and

Les Invalides The Hôtel des Invalides (; ), commonly called (; ), is a complex of buildings in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France, containing museums and monuments, all relating to the military history of France, as well as a hospital and an old soldi ...

. He was also the architect of the city of Paris. In 1891 Paulin was appointed to the General Council of Civil Buildings. In 1894 he became head of a studio at the School of Fine Arts. He succeeded Julien Gaudet. In 1912 he was elected to the Academy of Fine Arts in chair 2 of the architecture department, succeeding Honoré Daumet. Paulin died on 27 November 1915 in Paris.

Works

Paulin designed the Pavilion of Venezuela for the

Exposition Universelle (1889) The of 1889 (), better known in English as the 1889 Paris Exposition, was a world's fair held in Paris, France, from 6 May to 31 October 1889. It was the fifth of ten major expositions held in the city between 1855 and 1937. It attracted more t ...

. The pavilion was in a Spanish Renaissance revival style, with ornate sculptural decorations. It also illustrated elements of the

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity (then defi ...

style that the Spanish and Jesuits introduced in many parts of South America. Paulin was co-designer of the Palace of Electricity, Chateau of Water and Palace of Mechanical and Chemical Industries at the

Exposition Universelle (1900) The Exposition Universelle of 1900 (), better known in English as the 1900 Paris Exposition, was a world's fair held in Paris, France, from 14 April to 12 November 1900, to celebrate the achievements of the past century and to accelerate develop ...

, in collaboration with

Eugène Hénard Eugène Alfred Hénard (; 22 October 1849 – 19 February 1923) was a French architect and a highly influential urban planner. He was a pioneer of roundabouts, which were first introduced in Paris in 1907. Hénard advocated several major urban ...

. Hénard designed the Palace of Electricity, which provided power to the other pavilions. Paulin created the huge water tower that served as its facade. It was an extraordinary structure, including a huge waterfall and crowned by a statue of the Genius of Electricity over high. Other works included: *1895: School groups at 101 rue de Saussure and 20 rue Jouffroy-d'Abbans in the 17th arrondissement of Paris *1915-1916: Commercial shop, rue d'Enghien in the 10th arrondissement of Paris *1915-1916: Hôtel du peintre Agage, rue Weber in the 16th arrondissement of Paris

References

Citations Sources * * * * * * * * * * * Further reading * David de Pénanrun, Roux et Delaire, ''Les architectes élèves de l'école des beaux-arts (1793-1907)'', Librairie de la construction moderne, 2nd éd., 1907, pages 125, 366 * ''Funérailles de M. Edmond Paulin le mardi 30 novembre 1915'', Paris, Institut de France, 1915 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Paulin, Edmond Jean-Baptiste 1848 births 1915 deaths 19th-century French architects Officers of the Legion of Honour Prix de Rome for architecture Architects from Paris