Louis Auguste Léodar Couvrechef (1827–1858) was a French architect who served

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...

as architect for the imperial residences.

Early life

Louis Auguste Léodar Couvrechef was born in

Mathieu, Calvados Mathieu () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas region ...

, in 1827.

Education

He studied at the

École des Beaux-Arts École des Beaux-Arts (; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth century ...

in Paris.

Career

Couvrechef was made a sub-inspector under architect

Hippolyte Durand Hippolyte Durand (1801–1882 ) was a French architect who specialized in medieval-style church architecture. He restored or built many church buildings, mostly in the southwest of the country. He is perhaps best known for the Basilica of Our Lad ...

on the project to build the Villa Eugénie in

Biarritz Biarritz ( , , , ; Basque also ; oc, Biàrritz ) is a city on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the French Basque Country in southwestern France. It is located from the border with Spain. ...

as a summer residence for the imperial family, starting in 1854. Durand chose a rather austere design, and was abruptly dismissed in June 1855. Couvrechef, who was known to prefer a more decorative style, was given responsibility for continuing the work. In 1857 Couvrechef became architect of the

Château de Pau The Château de Pau ( en, Pau Castle, eu, Paueko gaztelua) is a castle in the centre of the city of Pau, the capital of Pyrénées-Atlantiques and Béarn. It dominates that quarter of the city. Henry IV of France and Navarre was born here on ...

. Couvrechef was also involved in reconstruction of the Empress's Castillo de Arteaga in the province of

Biscay Biscay (; eu, Bizkaia ; es, Vizcaya ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilbao. B ...

in Spain, a medieval building surrounded by walls with four round towers.

Death

Couvrechef died in 1858 and was replaced as architect of the imperial residences by

Gabriel-Auguste Ancelet Gabriel-Auguste Ancelet (21 December 1829 – 3 August 1895) was a French architect who undertook various projects for the Emperor Napoleon III, and later taught for many years at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Birth and education Gab ...

References

Sources

* * 1827 births 1858 deaths 19th-century French architects {{France-architect-stub