Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Lavirotte building, also known as the Alexander Bigot building, is an iconic Art Nouveau residential building located at 29 avenue Rapp in the 7th arrondissement of Paris. Built in 1900 by architect Jules Lavirotte for ceramicist Alexandre Bigot, it stands out for its facade decorated with flaming sandstones and ceramic decorations, serving as a showcase for Bigot's creations. The sculptures, made by Théobald-Joseph Sporrer, Firmin Michelet, Alfred Jean Halou and Jean-Baptiste Larrivé, enrich his symbolist and organic aesthetic.

The building won the Paris façade competition in 1901, dedicating its architectural originality. Its heritage protection began in 1964 with the inscription of the facade and the roof on the street to historical monuments, extended in 2015 to all facades, roofs, entrance hall and stairway. Labelled "the 20th century heritage", it illustrates the creative audacity of Parisian Art Nouveau and the dialogue between architecture and decorative arts.

The location of the building, in a bourgeois district of the 7th arrondissement, reflects its status as a report building for an easy clientele. Innovative materials, such as flammated sandstone, and architectural ceramic techniques embody the artistic experiments of the time, while the facade competition highlights the city's passion for urban beautification at the Belle Époque. Today, there remains a major testimony of this ephemeral but influential movement.

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