The Richard Driehaus museum just finished hosting an exhibition about Hector Guimard, a pioneer of the French Art Nouveau movement. He was, most famously, the designer behind the iconic Paris Métro signs, but the exhibit was helpful in shedding light on a lot more of his career.
In general, the art nouveau movement is a style in art, architecture, etc that emerged in the late 1800’s, characterized by forms inspired by nature (think very whimsical, flowy, connecting lines). Victor Horta basically started the architecture side of it in 1892 Belgium with House Tassel.
That house and many of Guimard’s projects are a great example of gesamtkunstwerk (“total work of art”). It’s the idea that the style and design of a project should be reflected in every single aspect. The designer doesn’t just decide where to put the windows, but they will go ahead and design the handle, the mullion, the specific trim, everything.
Guimard’s prowess extended beyond architecture. He formed a real estate and construction company, to build his projects, and he also was a savvy marketer, creating brochures and promotions to advertise his business. It’s so interesting and also exciting to hear about this. There are so many examples of iconic architects living like starved artists. But, architects need to get into real estate and take advantage of their financial value.
Additionally, architects need to integrate technology and prefabrication into their practice. And Guimard has done that too! He designed a modular masonry unit, and even used moulds to create repetitive prefabricated panels for the railings of the Paris Metro stops. An inspirational visit indeed.