Pierre Debeaux (19 July 1925 – 22 January 2001) was a French modernist architect and polymath. He is known for buildings such as the observatory of the

Pic du Midi de Bigorre The Pic du Midi de Bigorre () or simply the Pic du Midi (elevation ) is a mountain in the French Pyrenees. It is the site of the Pic du Midi Observatory. Pic du Midi Observatory The Pic du Midi Observatory () is an astronomical observato ...

, the Jacques Vion fire station and the Monument to the Glory of the Resistance in

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

, and the Pradier house in the Tarn, all of which are registered French national landmarks. He is described in the archives of the

Haute-Garonne Haute-Garonne (; , ; ''Upper Garonne'') is a department in the southwestern French region of Occitanie. Named after the river Garonne, which flows through the department. Its prefecture and main city is Toulouse, the country's fourth-largest. ...

as "the most inventive architect of his generation".

Early life an education

Pierre Amédée Bernard Debeaux was born on July 19, 1925, in Mazères-sur-Salat. His father, François Jean Bernard Debeaux (1901–1984) was an electrical engineer who taught industrial design at both the Ecole des Beaux-arts and the Lycée Pierre-de-Fermat in Toulouse. The Debeaux family lived in Toulouse and had a second home in Saint-Denis-les-Martel in the Lot. He attended the Lycée Pierre-de-Fermat in Toulouse from 1935–1943 and graduated with a baccalaureate in mathematics, followed by a baccalaureate in philosophy under the tutelage of

Jean-Pierre Vernant Jean-Pierre Vernant (; January 4, 1914 – January 9, 2007) was a French resistant, historian and anthropologist, specialist in ancient Greece. Influenced by Claude Lévi-Strauss, Vernant developed a structuralist approach to Greek myth, traged ...

. He remained a fervent admirer of Vernant's Hellenism throughout his life, and was also influenced by Vernant's involvement in the Resistance. Debeaux obtained a degree in architecture from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in June 1950 with a project for an agricultural tool forge. He was awarded the prize for the best national diploma and became a registered architect in 1950. During the 1960s and 1970s, he embarked on several major research trips to discover different cultures and heritages: Siberia and China (1966); Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, Brazil and Bolivia (1967 and 1971); India, Nepal and Kashmir (1968); Mexico (1969); Siberia and Japan (1970); Indonesia and Sri Lanka (1972); and Turkey (1974). These journeys added an Orientalist influence to Debeaux's work.

Work and career

From 1954 to 1972, Debeaux was part of the "Atelier des Architectes Associés", which he co-founded. He devoted much of his time to research into harmonic relationships and three-dimensional structures. Between 1966 and 1989, he filed a series of patents in France, Europe and the United States for three-dimensional structures. He is known for buildings such as the observatory of the Pic du Midi de Bigorre, built between 1951–1966 (Debeaux was only 26 when he began the project); the Jacques Vion fire station (1966–1972) and the Monument à la Gloire de la Résistance (1965–1971) in Toulouse, and the landmarked Pradier house (1974–1978) in the Tarn.

Charlotte Perriand Charlotte Perriand (; 24 October 1903 – 27 October 1999) was a French architect and designer. Her work aimed to create functional living spaces in the belief that better design helps in creating a better society. In her article "L'Art de Vivre" ...

was commissioned to design unique furniture pieces for the Pradier house. These pieces were sold at

Sotheby's Sotheby's ( ) is a British-founded multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

in 2020. In 1958 Debeaux became a professor at the Ecole des Beaux-arts in Toulouse. In 1973 he was awarded the Charles-Henri Besnard prize for the innovative metal roof structure design of the Jacques Vion fire station. In 1981, he won the

Académie d'Architecture An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

's "Beau Béton" competition for the Pradier house. Debeaux made artistic and scientific contributions to the

Musée des Augustins The Musée des Augustins de Toulouse () is a fine arts museum in Toulouse, France which conserves a collection of sculpture and paintings from the Middle Ages to the early 20th century. The paintings are from throughout France, the sculptures rep ...

in Toulouse between 1965 and 1992.

Personal life

Pierre Debeaux and his partner Elisabeth Cardo had one daughter, Charlotte, born in Toulouse in 1985.

Death and legacy

Debeaux suffered a stroke in November 1997. He died in Toulouse in January 2001. Debeaux's Pradier house and Monument to the Glory of the Resistance are protected French national landmarks. An initiative was begun in 2023 to add the Jacques Vion fire station to the French register of protected monuments resulting in the building being granted protected status.

Partial list of works

*1956 Citroën building (with Atelier des Architectes Associés) *1956 Extension of groupe scolaire Jules Julien (with Roger Brunerie) *1956 Groupe scolaire Molière, Saint Cyprien, Toulouse (with Roger Brunerie) *1956 Primary school, Jolimont, Toulouse (with Roger Brunerie) *1956 Primary school, Sept Deniers, Toulouse (with Roger Brunerie) *1957 Fabre kindergarten, Toulouse *1959 Martin house, Engomer *1961 Martin house, Castelnaudary *1961 Recherche Institute, Bagnère de Bigorre *1963 Water tower, route d'Espagne *1969 Villa Chanfreau, Cote Pavée, Toulouse *1971 Monument to the Glory of the Resistance, Toulouse (with Atelier des Architectes Associés) *1975 Observatory, Pic du Midi de Bigorre *1967 Jacques Vion fire station, Toulouse *1969 Vessières apartment building, Toulouse *1970 Pham Huu Chan house, Clermont-le-Fort *1977 Pradier house, Lavaur

Gallery

File:Pic du Midi de Bigorre Observatory.jpg, Pic du Midi de Bigorre observatory File:Chateau d'eau de l'hopital Marchant Pierre Debeaux architecte 1963.jpg, Water tower (Chateau d'eau) of the Marchant Hospital File:Musée des Augustins Toulouse 1980.jpg, Musée des Augustins File:Jacques Vion fire station, Pierre Debeaux architect, principal façade.jpg, Jacques Vion fire station, principal façade (grande halle) File:Caserne Vion Toulouse Pierre Debeaux architecte grande halle.jpg, Jacques Vion fire station, (grande halle) File:Caserne Vion Toulouse Pierre Debeaux architecte détail de la halle.jpg, Jacques Vion fire station, structural details (grande halle) File:Jacques Vion fire station, Pierre Debeaux architect, gymnasium.jpg, Jacques Vion fire station, gymnasium File:Jacques Vion firestation, Pierre Debeaux architect, balcony detail.jpg, Jacques Vion firestation, balcony detail

Publications

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References

Notes

External links

*
Pierre DEBEAUX architecte
', brief documentary film, 1973 (in French) *
Caserne de pompiers Jacques Vion
'' detailed documentation stored on

DoCoMoMo Docomomo International (sometimes written as DoCoMoMo or simply Docomomo) is a non-profit organization whose full title is: International Committee for Documentation and Conservation of Buildings, Sites and Neighbourhoods of the Modern Movement. ...

(Fiche inventaire, in French) *
La maison Pradier de l’architecte Pierre Debeaux
' Ville de LAVAUR, Service Urbanisme (in French) {{DEFAULTSORT:Debeaux, Pierre 1925 births 2001 deaths 20th-century French architects Architectural theoreticians Brutalist architects Modernist architects from France French architecture writers French furniture designers