Louis Marie Cordonnier (July 7, 1854,

Haubourdin Haubourdin () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is part of the Métropole Européenne de Lille. Population Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 648 communes of the Nord ...

, Nord – 1940) was a French architect, born in

and associated principally with

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the N ...

and the

French Flanders French Flanders (french: La Flandre française) is a part of the historical County of Flanders in present-day France where a dialect of Dutch language, Dutch was or still is traditionally spoken. The region lies in the modern-day region of Hauts ...

region.

Biography

Son of the architect Jean-Baptiste Cordonnier (1820–1902), Cordonnier studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He returned to Lille for his first major commission, the 1881 town hall of Loos. His chosen style was a strongly regional

Flemish Renaissance Revival Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

in brick, with a characteristic belfry tower. Further civic commissions in the area culminated in Cordonnier's best known work, the

Peace Palace , native_name_lang = , logo = , logo_size = , logo_alt = , logo_caption = , image = La haye palais paix jardin face.JPG , image_size = , image_alt = , image_caption = The Peace Palace, The Hague , map_type = , map_alt = , m ...

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

, seat of the

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...

. There his neo-Flemish entry won a

design competition A design competition or design contest is a competition in which an entity solicits design proposals from the public for a specified purpose. Architecture An architectural design competition solicits architects to submit design proposals for a b ...

against far more modern competitors like Hendrik Berlage and

Otto Wagner Otto Koloman Wagner (; 13 July 1841 – 11 April 1918) was an Austrian architect, furniture designer and urban planner. He was a leading member of the Vienna Secession movement of architecture, founded in 1897, and the broader Art Nouveau move ...

. The jury's choice proved controversial enough to fuel lawsuits for seven years. Cordonnier alternated his regional Flemish style with occasional essays in the neo-classical Beaux-Arts style so prevalent in Paris during these years. In Lille the architect's Flemish Chamber of Commerce building of 1910–21 stands twenty paces away from his Beaux-Arts

Opéra de Lille The Opéra de Lille is a neo-classical opera house, built from 1907 to 1913 and officially inaugurated in 1923. Closed for renovation in 1998 it reopened in 2003 for Lille 2004. The Opéra de Lille is a member of the European Network for Opera, M ...

of 1903–14, its design said to be inspired by Garnier's Paris Opera. In the wake of the widespread destruction of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in this part of France, Cordonnier took the lead in efforts to rebuild civic buildings and local churches in strictly traditional style, although not averse to using structural concrete. Towards the end of his career he was joined in practice by his son, Louis-Stanislas Cordonnier (1884–1960).

Work

His work includes: * the

, built 1903-1914 * Notre-Dame-de-Lille Pellevoisin, Lille, 1906–1911 * the

, 1907–1913 * series of seaside mansions and villas at

Neufchâtel-Hardelot Neufchâtel-Hardelot (; vls, Nieuwkasteel-Hardelo) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. The commune houses a PGL hotel named Le Pré Catelan. Geography Neufchâtel-Hardelot is a farming and to ...

, circa 1908-1912 * Chamber of Commerce de Lille, 1910–1921 * basilica and memorial building,

Notre Dame de Lorette Notre Dame de Lorette (), also known as Ablain St.-Nazaire French Military Cemetery, is the world's largest French military cemetery.Basilica of St. Thérèse, Lisieux, the second-largest pilgrimage site in France, after

Lourdes Lourdes (, also , ; oc, Lorda ) is a market town situated in the Pyrenees. It is part of the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. Prior to the mid-19th century, the town was best known for the Châ ...

, 1923–1959 * Church of St. Vaast,

Béthune Béthune ( ; archaic and ''Bethwyn'' historically in English) is a city in northern France, sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department. Geography Béthune is located in the former province of Artois. It is situated south-east of Calais, ...

, 1924–1927 * Church of St. Vaast, Bailleul, 1935 * ''Grands bureaux de la Société des Mines'' headquarters, in Lens, Pas-de-Calais, with landscape architect

Achille Duchêne Achille Duchêne (1866 — 1947) was a French garden designer who worked in the grand manner established by André Le Nôtre. The son of the landscaper Henri Duchêne, Achille Duchêne was the garden designer most in demand among high French societ ...

, 1928–1930,Lens Tourisme
Grands bureaux de la Société des Mines. now part of

Artois University The University of Artois ( French: ''Université d'Artois'') is a public university situated in the Nord and Pas-de-Calais departments of northern France. It is situated on 5 campuses in Arras, Béthune, Douai, Lens and Liévin. The Univ ...

* four of the

Belfries of Belgium and France The Belfries of Belgium and France are a group of 56 historical buildings designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, in recognition of the civic (rather than church) belfries serving as an architectural manifestation of emerging civic indep ...

designated by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

as a

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

. Of the 23 such municipal towers within

Nord-Pas-de-Calais Nord-Pas-de-Calais (); pcd, Nord-Pas-Calés); is a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Hauts-de-France. It consisted of the departments of Nord and Pas-de-Calais. Nord-Pas-de-Calais ...

and the Somme, Cordonnier designed those in Loos, Dunkirk, Comines, and Armentières.

Gallery

File:Lille opéra.jpg,

File:Basilique Sainte-Thérèse de Lisieux-2876.jpg, Basilica of St. Thérèse, Lisieux File: Chambre de commerce - Lille - 2003-21-09.jpg, Chamber of Commerce, Lille File:Peace Palace by Night.jpg,

File:Bailleul_Saint_Vaast_R02.jpg, Church of St Vaast, Bailleul

Sources

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cordonnier, Louis 1854 births 1940 deaths 19th-century French architects 20th-century French architects People from Nord (French department) Members of the Académie des beaux-arts