Claude Vasconi (24 June 1940 - 8 December 2009) 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 ...

. Vasconi was born in

Rosheim Rosheim (; gsw-FR, Rose) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It lies southwest of Strasbourg, on the eastern slopes of the Vosges mountains. It is a winemaking town on the tourist "Road of the Wines o ...

, and was educated at the ''Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts et de l'Industrie'' in

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

. In 1964, he set up office in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. After designing two key projects as a young architect,

Forum des Halles Les Halles (; 'The Halls') was Paris' central fresh food market. It last operated on January 12, 1973, after which it was "left to the demolition men who will knock down the last three of the eight iron-and-glass pavilions""Les Halles Dead at 200 ...

in the centre of Paris and the building of the

Préfecture In France, a prefecture (french: préfecture) may be: * the ''chef-lieu de département'', the commune in which the administration of a department is located; * the ''chef-lieu de région'', the commune in which the administration of a region is l ...

Cergy-Pontoise Cergy-Pontoise () is a New town#France, new town and an Agglomeration communities in France, agglomeration community in France, in the Val-d'Oise and Yvelines departments of France, departments, northwest of Paris on the river Oise (river), Oise. I ...

, he became one of the most sought-after architects in France, with major projects in

Montpellier Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...

, Strasbourg and

Saint-Nazaire Saint-Nazaire (; ; Gallo: ''Saint-Nazère/Saint-Nazaer'') is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France, in traditional Brittany. The town has a major harbour on the right bank of the Loire estuary, near the Atlantic Ocean ...

. He died in Paris, aged 69. Claude Vasconi has been credited as the pioneer proponent of the concept of "Angelina"-style cellular steel beams.

Selected works

* 2008 Library in

Genk Genk () is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg near Hasselt. The municipality only comprises the town of Genk itself. It is one of the most important industrial towns in Flanders, located on the Albert Canal, ...

, Belgium * 2007 ''Nouvel Hôpital Civil'' (hospital) in Strasbourg * 2002 ''Palais de Justice'' (courthouse) in

Grenoble lat, Gratianopolis , commune status = Prefecture and commune , image = Panorama grenoble.png , image size = , caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...

* 2002 ''L'Onde'' Cultural Centre in

Vélizy-Villacoublay Vélizy-Villacoublay () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the south-western suburbs of Paris from the center and east of Versailles. Its inhabitants are called Véliziens. ...

* 2001 ''Grand Bateau'' office building in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

, Germany * 1995-1998

Grand Ballon The Grand Ballon () or Great Belchen is the highest mountain of the Vosges, located northwest of Mulhouse, France. It is also the highest point of the Grand-Est French region. Name ''Grand Ballon'' means "great ound-toppedmountain" becaus ...

observatory, on top of the Grand Ballon, the highest point of the

Vosges mountains The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single ...

* 1995 Tower above the Lille Europe train station,

Euralille Euralille is an urban quarter in the centre of Lille, France. Conceived as a major European business district in the 1980s, it is strategically located at the intersection of the high-speed railway lines linking Paris, Brussels, and London, and i ...

, Lille * 1994-1999 Refurbishment of the

Borsig Borsig is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * (1867–1897), German entrepreneur * August Borsig (1804–1854), German businessman * Conrad von Borsig (1873–1945), German mechanical engineer * Ernst Borsig Ernst August Pau ...

Halle, a former

locomotive A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the Power (physics), motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, Motor coach (rail), motor ...

factory in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, Germany * 1990-1994 Congress Centre in

Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...

* 1989 Building of the

Bas-Rhin Bas-Rhin (; Alsatian: ''Unterelsàss'', ' or '; traditional german: links=no, Niederrhein; en, Lower Rhine) is a department in Alsace which is a part of the Grand Est super-region of France. The name means 'Lower Rhine', referring to its low ...

département in Strasbourg * 1989 Thomson factory in

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a s ...

* 1988-1993 Cultural Centre ''La Filature'' in

Mulhouse Mulhouse (; Alsatian language, Alsatian: or , ; ; meaning ''Mill (grinding), mill house'') is a city of the Haut-Rhin Departments of France, department, in the Grand Est Regions of France, region, eastern France, close to the France–Switzerl ...

* 1988 The ''

Corum Corum may refer to: People * Gene Corum (1921-2010), American football coach * James Corum, American military historian * Lora L. Corum (1899-1949), American racecar driver Places * Çorum, city in Turkey; capital of Çorum Province * Çorum Pr ...

'' complex in Montpellier * 1987-1989 Shopping Mall ''Le Paquebot'' in Saint-Nazaire * 1984 TDF Tower in

Romainville Romainville () is a Communes of France, commune in the Seine-Saint-Denis department and in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. Location It is located from the Kilometre Zero, center of Paris. History On 24 July 1867, a part of the territory ...

* 1979

Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufactured ...

factory in

Boulogne-Billancourt Boulogne-Billancourt (; often colloquially called simply Boulogne, until 1924 Boulogne-sur-Seine, ) is a wealthy and prestigious Communes of France, commune in the Parisian area, located from its Kilometre zero, centre. It is a Subprefectures in ...

* 1979

with Georges Pencreac'h.

References

External links

Homepage of Vasconi's firm

Structurae page on Vasconi
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vasconi, Claude 1940 births 2009 deaths People from Rosheim 20th-century French architects