Claude-Nicolas Ledoux

Claude-Nicolas Ledoux (1736-1806) is today regarded as the main representative of French Revolutionary architecture. His diverse creativity embraced the architectural ideals of his time and developed bold utopias from them.

This book presents Ledoux's buildings and projects in their aesthetic and historical significance. His works – the royal saltworks of Arc-et-Senans, the customs building in Paris, the ideal city of Chaux – demonstrate how this architecture draws from antiquity and the Renaissance while also finding its own distinct language of form.

With the Revolution, Ledoux's architectural work came to an end, as he was seen by his contemporaries as the architect of the king. He then turned to theoretical work and unfolded his vision of the modern architect.