Jules Saulnier (; 1817–1881) was a French

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

. He is best remembered for his work on the Menier Chocolate Co. buildings in

Noisiel Noisiel () is a commune in the French department of Seine-et-Marne, administrative region of Île-de-France. It is located in the eastern suburbs of Paris, from the center of Paris. The commune of Noisiel is part of the Val Maubuée sector, on ...

, France. Many historians cite his 1872 building as the first true skeleton structure, having its exterior walls requiring only simple infill. However the lesser known

Watson's Hotel Watson's Hotel (actually Watson's Esplanade Hotel), now known as the Esplanade Mansion, located in the Kala Ghoda area of Mumbai (Bombay), is India's oldest surviving cast iron building. It is probably the oldest surviving multi-level fully ca ...

erected in distant Mumbai in 1869 from prefabricated components cast in England also has an expressed cast

iron frame The term iron frame describes the structural use of either cast iron or wrought iron in the columns and Beam (structure), beams of a building. While popular in the 19th century, the iron frame was displaced by the steel frame in the early 20th centu ...

with infill walls of brick. The February 1997 issue of the

Architectural Review ''The Architectural Review'' is a monthly international architectural magazine. It has been published in London since 1896. Its articles cover the built environment – which includes landscape, building design, interior design and urbanism � ...

called the iron and brick chocolate factory at Noisiel "one of the iconic buildings of the Industrial Revolution". In 1992, the factory was designated by the government of France as an official

Monument historique () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which national heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a collection of buildings, ...

and is on the list to be named a

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 ...

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 ...

. A street in the Parisian suburb of Saint-Denis is named in Jules Saulnier's honor.

References

;Notes

External links

Jules Saulnier at Greatbuildings website
19th-century French architects 1817 births 1881 deaths {{France-architect-stub