Albert Ballu (1 June 1849 - 3 November 1939) was a French architect. He designed many buildings in

French Algeria French Algeria (french: Alger to 1839, then afterwards; unofficially , ar, الجزائر المستعمرة), also known as Colonial Algeria, was the period of French colonisation of Algeria. French rule in the region began in 1830 with the ...

, including the

Cathédrale du Sacré-Cœur d'Oran Cathédrale du Sacré-Cœur d'Oran (''Sacred Heart Cathedral of Oran'') is a former Roman Catholic church located at Place de la Kahina, on Boulevard Hammou-boutlelis, in Oran, Algeria. History The church building was built between 1903 and 1913 ...

Education and early career

Albert Ballu was the son of an architect, Théodore Ballu (1817–1885), who designed several churches in Paris and who from 1860 was head of public works for the city of Paris. Albert entered the

École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts The Beaux-Arts de Paris is a French ''grande école'' whose primary mission is to provide high-level arts education and training. This is classical and historical School of Fine Arts in France. The art school, which is part of the Paris Science ...

in 1868. He was a student of Auguste Magne and his father. After graduating he assisted his father and participated in various competitions for public architecture. He was employed by the Church for the restoration of religious buildings, first in

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Ais de Provença in classical norm, or in Mistralian norm, ; la, Aquae Sextiae), or simply Aix ( medieval Occitan: ''Aics''), is a city and commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. ...

and then in

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

, where in the 1880s he conducted a survey of local architecture, notably mosques and palaces.

Work in Algeria

Oran train station, Boumlik Messaili, 29-07-2008

In 1889 he succeeded Edmond Duthoit as chief architect of the historical monuments department in Algeria, a position which he held for 30 years. Like his predecessor, Ballu was an advocate of regionalism and protection of the local heritage. He designed the Algerian pavilions and a reproduction of an Algerian town for the Paris Expositions

1889 Events January–March * January 1 ** The total solar eclipse of January 1, 1889 is seen over parts of California and Nevada. ** Paiute spiritual leader Wovoka experiences a vision, leading to the start of the Ghost Dance movement in the ...

and

1900 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15), 2 ...

. He participated in and from 1889 directed the excavations of the ancient Roman cities of

Djémila Djémila ( ar, جميلة, links=, lit=Ǧamīlah, translit=Beautiful (one)), formerly Cuicul, is a small mountain village in Algeria, near the northern coast east of Algiers, where some of the best preserved Roman ruins in North Africa are foun ...

and

Timgad Timgad ( ar, تيمقاد, links=, lit=, translit=Tīmgād, known as Marciana Traiana Thamugadi) was a Roman city in the Aurès Mountains of Algeria. It was founded by the Roman Emperor Trajan around 100 AD. The full name of the city was ''Colon ...

. Among his major architectural works in Algeria were the central railway station and cathedral in

Oran Oran ( ar, وَهران, Wahrān) is a major coastal city located in the north-west of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria after the capital Algiers, due to its population and commercial, industrial, and cultural ...

, both of which were early works in reinforced concrete built by the firm of

Auguste Perret Auguste Perret (12 February 1874 – 25 February 1954) was a French architect and a pioneer of the architectural use of reinforced concrete. His major works include the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, the first Art Deco building in Paris; the C ...

and brothers. In the 1890s he also designed the French Renaissance Revival style Palace of Justice in Bucharest.

Selected publications

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References

External links

Drawings by Ballu
at the

Musée d'Orsay The Musée d'Orsay ( , , ) ( en, Orsay Museum) is a museum in Paris, France, on the Left Bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts railway station built between 1898 and 1900. The museum holds mainly French art ...

1849 births 1939 deaths Architects from Paris École des Beaux-Arts alumni 19th-century French architects 20th-century French architects Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery {{France-architect-stub