Lavirotte Building

The Lavirotte Building on Avenue Rapp in Paris's 7th arrondissement is considered one of the best-known surviving examples of Art Nouveau architecture in the French capital. Designed by the architect Jules Lavirotte and built between 1899 and 1901, its facade impresses with its lavish decoration of sculptures and glazed ceramic tiles made by the manufacturer Alexandre Bigot. In 1901, Lavirotte won an award for the most original new facade in the 7th arrondissement, a prize that brought him a degree of fame similar to that of his contemporary Hector Guimard. The jury praised the facade's overall composition at the time for creating a very pleasing effect and for helping to adorn the great boulevard. The building also served as an effective showcase for the glazed clay tiles developed by Bigot, which were later used in other major Art Nouveau buildings.

Visitors can admire the facade, which is clad entirely in glazed, colored ceramic tiles on the upper floors. These are combined with elaborate sculptural decoration, plant and animal motifs, curved windows, and undulating iron railings. The entrance portal on the ground floor contrasts with the rest of the facade and is framed by statues of Adam and Eve and a female figure, while the doors are decorated with wrought-iron lizards. Inside, the Art Nouveau aesthetic appears in a somewhat more restrained form. The entrance hall features curved arches resting on marble columns, while the central staircase stands out with a banister of undulating iron shaped like exotic plants and walls with floral designs in muted shades of brown, gold, and red.

Architecturally, the building combines Baroque elements with plant patterns and highly ornamented ironwork. Lavirotte used innovative techniques in its construction, including an early form of reinforced concrete and double-layered walls with an air gap for better sound insulation. The sculptural work was carried out by artists such as Théobald-Joseph Sporrer, Firmin Michelet, and Alfred-Jean Halou, while the wrought ironwork came from Dondelinger. Since 1964, the building has been classified as a historic monument. In 2014, the architecture critic Gilles Plum described it as a rare example of a free composition that pushes to its limits and achieves rich sculptural effects through expensive materials.