Haussmann-style buildings have their own distinctive features. Staff Sergeant Guillaume Casada, a Paris firefighter and writer for the magazine Hello Eighteen, explains how to recognise them and what the main risks are for firefighters. Here’s an explanation!
Whilst in post in Paris between 1853 and 1870, Prefect Haussmann, appointed by Napoleon III, undertook massive urban development and sanitation projects in the capital. New roads were cut through, and sewerage and water supply networks were established. Right up until the 1920s, a new architectural style emerged: the ‘Haussmann-style’ building.
How to recognise them
The façade, built of cut stone, is the feature that best characterises the Haussmannian style. In some cases, it is constructed of half-timbering and covered with render. The height of the building, ranging from twelve to twenty metres, is proportional to the width of the street, without ever exceeding six storeys. A particular type of building dominates the grand avenues:
- The ground floor, with its high ceilings, was intended to house shops, except in so-called ‘upper-class’ buildings. Just above this was a mezzanine floor designed to accommodate the shopkeepers.
- The second floor, known as the ‘noble’ floor, features balconies and richly decorated window frames.
- The third and fourth floors are more conventional. Individual balconies were introduced following changes to the specifications governing Haussmann-style architecture.
- The fifth floor features a balcony running the full length of the façade.
- The top floor was reserved for the servants, hence the name ‘servants’ quarters’. Located under the eaves, this floor comprises small bedrooms and shared bathrooms, accessed via a narrow corridor.
It is accessed via a service staircase, onto which the kitchens of the other flats in the building generally open. The typical interior layout of a bourgeois Haussmann-style flat consists of a series of adjoining rooms. Behind the main façade are the sitting room and the dining room. The bathrooms tend to face the inner courtyard.
The new buildings in Haussmann’s Paris are subject to common building regulations. However, depending on the neighbourhood and budget, they are generally classified into three categories, from the most luxurious to the most modest:
- This first-class building comprises, above the ground floor, five storeys of spacious flats with high ceilings. Stables and outbuildings are situated in the courtyard. A service staircase leads to the attic, which is reserved for the servants, whilst the occupants of the other floors use a much wider and more ornate staircase. These buildings are often richly decorated (fluted pilasters, pediments, carved medallions, caryatids or Atlanteans, etc.).
- The second-class building has five storeys and a converted attic accessible via a service staircase.
- This five-storey, third-class block offers smaller flats and has no service staircase. Its façade does not necessarily feature a balcony, and it is generally much less ornate than more luxurious blocks.
The risks associated with the procedure
Staff Sergeant Christophe Le Boulanger – Paris Fire Brigade.