Léon Azéma (20 January 1888 – 1 March 1978) was a French architect. He is responsible for many public works in France, especially in and around Paris. His most famous work is 1937 Palais de Chaillot, facing the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

Early career

Azéma was born in Alignan-du-Vent in the

Hérault Hérault (; , ) is a departments of France, department of the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Southern France. Named after the Hérault (river), Hérault River, its Prefectures in France, prefecture is M ...

department of southern France. His parents were viticulturists ruined by

Phylloxera Grape phylloxera is an insect pest of grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America. Grape phylloxera (''Daktulosphaira vitifoliae'' (Fitch 1855) belongs to the family Phylloxeridae, within the order Hemiptera, bugs); orig ...

, and were unable to fund their son's studies, so he moved to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in 1902 and entered the ''

École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in nor ...

'' as an apprentice, where he studied under Gaston Redon. In 1912, he was called to military service. He was seriously wounded at

Charleroi Charleroi (, , ; ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It is the largest city in both Hainaut and Wallonia. The city is situated in the valley of the Sambre, in the south-west of Belgium, not ...

during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and taken prisoner. He spent five years in German captivity but his artistic ability was appreciated by his captors, who provided him with paper and pencils. He returned to France in 1919 and rejoined the École des Beaux-Arts. He won first prize in the

Prix de Rome The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...

in 1921, and the international competition for the construction of the Palace of Justice in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

. He built several buildings in

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

with the College of Christian Schools and the Collège Saint-Marc. In 1922 he presented a project to rebuild the Labyrinth of Thebes in

Karnak The Karnak Temple Complex, commonly known as Karnak (), comprises a vast mix of temples, pylons, chapels, and other buildings near Luxor, Egypt. Construction at the complex began during the reign of Senusret I (reigned 1971–1926 BC) in the ...

Douaumont ossuary

On his return to France, he was appointed professor at the École des Beaux-Arts. In 1923, he won the contest for Douaumont ossuary, which reflects his admiration for Roman art and stone building construction, and was completed in 1932. It houses the bones of at least 130,000 unidentified soldiers of both sides. The jury was impressed by the functional qualities of the design. Azéma often travelled to visit the site during the rest of his career.

Architect of the City of Paris

Appointed Architect of the City of Paris in 1928, Azéma designed the restoration of the park of Sceaux. He reconstructed the Pavilion of Hanover in 1932 and in 1934–1935 he rebuilt waterfalls created by

André Le Nôtre André Le Nôtre (; 12 March 1613 – 15 September 1700), originally rendered as André Le Nostre, was a French landscape architect and the principal gardener of King Louis XIV of France. He was the landscape architect who designed Gardens ...

and destroyed in the French Revolution. In Paris, he created the squares of the green belt and that of Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre (1930–1935) and the sports fields of the ASPS in 1937. In 1938, work started on his design for the ''Parc de la Butte du Chapeau Rouge'' in the 19th arrondissement, which was then completed by his son Jean. Between 1933 and 1935, he built the church of Saint Anthony of Padua in the 15th arrondissement. His work for the ''Parc des Expositions'' (exhibition ground) at the ''Porte de Versailles'' included office buildings, medical service and, in 1937, with Louis-Hippolyte Boileau, the entrance to the Park. At the Brussels World Fair of 1935, he designed the ''Pavillon de la Ville de Paris''. In 1936, together with Maurice Mantout, he built the Franco-Muslim Avicenna hospital in Bobigny. With

Jacques Carlu Jacques Carlu (7 April 1890 Bonnières-sur-Seine – 3 December 1976 Paris) was a French architect and designer, working mostly in Art Deco style, active in France, Canada, and in the United States. Biography Through the 1910s Carlu studied on ...

and Louis-Hippolyte Boileau, he won the competition for the construction of the

Palais de Chaillot The Palais de Chaillot () is a building at the top of the in the Trocadéro area in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, France. Design The building was designed in classicising " moderne" style by architects Louis-Hippolyte Boileau, Jacques ...

on the occasion of the 1937 Paris World's Fair. Azéma was a professor at the '' Ecole nationale supérieure des Postes, Télégraphes et Téléphones'', and on 8 August 1928 was appointed architect to the French postal service. He created the stamp museum in Paris as well as many post offices: Paris 1, in 1933, Paris 5 1933, Paris 8 and the sorting office at Paris Saint-Lazare in 1938, the Roquette Voltaire central office, Paris 20 then throughout France: Vichy in 1935, Bagneux, the Centre national d'études des télécommunications (CNET) in 1937, Argenteuil in 1940, Garches in 1941, Marseille in 1959, Strasbourg, the Centre for Giro and the telephone exchange in 1961, Charleville, Malesherbes, Chaumont, the gare de Troyes, and a water tower at Bordeaux. He finished his career with the Postal service on 31 December 1953.

Architect of the ORTF

After retiring from the postal service, Azéma became the architect of the ''

Office de Radiodiffusion Télévision Française The (; ORTF; , or French Radio and Television Broadcasting Office) was the national agency charged, between 1964 and 1975, with providing public radio and television in France. All programming, especially news broadcasts, were under strict cont ...

'' (ORTF). At 65, he participated in the contest to design the Maison de la Radio in the

16th arrondissement of Paris The 16th arrondissement of Paris (; ) is the westernmost of the 20 arrondissements of Paris, the capital city of France. Located on the city's Right Bank, it is adjacent to the 17th and 8th arrondissements to the northeast, as well as to the ...

. He was also responsible for the restoration of the Quai Conti Mint until 1978.

Personal life

An amateur painter, Azéma produced numerous works including several views of Parthenay (

Deux-Sèvres Deux-Sèvres (, Poitevin-Saintongese: ''Deùs Saevres'') is a French department. ''Deux-Sèvres'' literally means "two Sèvres": the Sèvre Nantaise and the Sèvre Niortaise are two rivers which have their sources in the department. It had a ...

), his wife's birthplace. He designed his villa in Sainte-Maxime sur Mer and his home in

Bourg-la-Reine Bourg-la-Reine () is a Communes of France, commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, center of Paris. History In 1792, during the French Revolution, Bourg-la-Reine (meaning "Town of the Queen") w ...

(4 avenue Aristide Briand), where he lived from 1939. He died in

Épernay Épernay () is a Communes of France, commune in the Marne (department), Marne Departments of France, department of northern France, 130 km north-east of Paris on the mainline railway to Strasbourg. The town sits on the left bank of the Marne ...

on 1 March 1978 and is buried in the town cemetery.

References

External links

Léon Azéma
at Fédération Nationale du Patrimoine {{DEFAULTSORT:Azema, Leon People from Hérault 20th-century French architects 1888 births 1978 deaths World War I prisoners of war held by Germany French prisoners of war in World War I École des Beaux-Arts alumni