Defrasse, Alphonse Alexandre
Name
Defrasse, Alphonse Alexandre
Gender
Male
Birth
September 30, 1860 Paris
Death
March 18, 1939 Paris
Descriptive Note
Alphonse Alexandre Defrasse entered the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1877, as a student of Jules André. In 1886, Defrasse won the Grand Prix de Rome and was in residence at the Villa Medici from 1887 to 1890. During these years, and travelled extensively throughout the Middle East, Italy and Greece.
Upon his return from Rome, he started his long career as a professor at the École des Beaux-Arts. He also served as an Architect of Civil Buildings and National Palaces and in 1898 he became the Chief Architect for the Banque de France. Since the Bank was required by law to have a branch in the capital city of every Department, Defrasse devised the standard plan for all those branches.
He was awarded a Grand Prize at the Exposition Universelle of 1900, for his layout of the inner courtyard at the Petit Palais. In 1928, he was elected to the Académie des Beaux-Arts.
One of his most famous projects was the underground vaults in the headquarters of the Banque de France.(1925–27). The underground vaults, which hold France’s gold reserves, are buried some 25 metres below ground and supported by a network of 720 reinforced concrete pillars.
He designed the Banques et Établissement de Crédit Kiosk for the Exposition of Turin 1911.
Roles
Makers, Architects and Engineers
Related Built Environment Objects