Hôtel de Ville, Rezé
| Hôtel de Ville | |
|---|---|
 The curved frontage of the Hôtel de Ville in June 2025 | |
| General information | |
| Type | City hall |
| Architectural style | Postmodern style |
| Location | Rezé, France |
| Coordinates | 47°11′26″N 1°34′09″W / 47.1906°N 1.5691°W |
| Completed | 1989 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Alessandro Anselmi |
The Hôtel de Ville (French pronunciation: [otɛl də vil], City Hall) is a municipal building in Rezé, Loire-Atlantique, in western France, standing on Place Jean Baptiste Daviais.
History
Following the French Revolution, the new town council initially met at the home of the mayor at the time. This arrangement continued until the first town hall was erected on the south side of Rue Georges Grille, to a design by Sieur Guillemet, in 1838. After the site occupied by the first town hall was required for expansion of the local school, the council decided to erect a second town hall on the site of an old cemetery to the east of the Church of Saint-Pierre in 1858.[1][a]
In the late 19th century, after the second town hall became dilapidated, the council, led by the mayor, Georges Grignon Dumoulin, decided to commission a third town hall. The site they selected was on the north side of Rue Jean Louis. The building was designed by Sieur Bassy in the neoclassical style, built in rubble masonry with stone dressings, and was completed in 1895. The design involved a symmetrical main frontage of three bays facing onto Rue Jean Louis. The central bay, which was clad in stone, featured a short flight of steps leading up to a round headed doorway with a moulded surround and a keystone. On the first floor, there was a French door with a balustraded balcony, a hood mould and a pediment. At roof level, there was a steep châteauesque-style roof above the central bay. The outer bays were fenestrated by round headed windows on the ground floor and by casement windows with hood moulds and pediments on the first floor. The building was later renamed Hôtel Grignon-Dumoulin after the former mayor.[2]
Following the liberation of the town on 29 August 1944, during the Second World War,[3] the mayor, Alexandre Le Lamer, and other members of the council held a ceremony the following morning during which the tricolour was raised on the town hall.[4]
In the 1980s, following significant population growth, the council led by the mayor, Jacques Floch, decided to commission a modern town hall. The site the selected, on the south side of Rue Jean Louis, had been occupied by the second town hall and later by a boy's school. Construction of the new building started in September 1987.[5] It was designed by Alessandro Anselmi in the postmodern style, built in concrete and glass, and was officially opened on 14 July 1989.[6][7][8]
The design involved a large curved frontage on the west side, which featured horizontal sunshades, and a long straight frontage on the east side, which featured long rows of sloping concrete tiles. Internally, the principal rooms were the Bureau du Maire (mayor's parlour), which was at the north tip of the complex, and the Salle du Conseil (council chamber), which was shaped like an eye and surmounted by a dome,[9][10] and the Salle des Mariages (wedding room), which was decorated with murals by the local artist, Jean-Claude Mareschal.[11]
Notes
- ^ The site of the first town hall is now occupied by École Primaire Publique Yvonne et Alexandre Plancher, while the site of the second town hall is now occupied by part of the current town hall.
References
- ^ "Quartier Hôtel de Ville". Town of Rezé. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
- ^ "Hôtel Grignon-Dumoulin". Town of Rezé. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
- ^ "Le 29 août 1944, Rezé libérée (juin-juillet-août 2024)". Town of Rezé. 27 August 2024. Archived from the original on 23 March 2025.
- ^ "Le 29 août 1944: jour de liesse dans la ville". Ouest France. 28 August 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
- ^ "Hôtel de ville de Rezé". PSS Architecture. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
- ^ Pinson, Daniel (1992). Des banlieues et des villes dérive et eurocompétition. Editions ouvrières. p. 250. ISBN 978-2708229860.
- ^ "Le Bourg-Hôtel-de-ville". Rezé Histoire. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
- ^ "À l'hôtel de ville de Rezé, 500 000 € de travaux et l'accueil du public déplacé pendant six mois". Ouest France. 7 March 2025. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
- ^ "Rezé. Conseil municipal: Julien Bourron, la quatrième démission du mandat". Maville. 11 April 2019. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
- ^ "Hôtel de Ville". Town of Rezé. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
- ^ "Hôtel de Ville de Rezé, salle de mariage – Projet de fresque murale pour le mur de la salle des mariages: peinture couleur de Jean-Claude Mareschal (artiste-peintre rezéen)". France Archives. Retrieved 17 July 2025.