In Situ (Jan 2022)
L’École nationale de la magistrature : une architecture nouvelle pour une justice rénovée (1960-1972)
Abstract
Appointed in 1959 adviser to the Ministry of Justice, of which he was in reality the main architect for fifteen years, Guillaume Gillet (1912-1987) was called on to tackle two of the most important programmes mandated by the “garde des Sceaux” (French equivalent of “Lord Chancellor” or “Attorney General”) Michel Debré: the construction of new prisons and the creation of a grande école for magistrates. Gillet is the author of at least ten centres of detention which renewed the design of prison, in its most functional aspect as well as in its aesthetics, thus following the principle of the “architecture parlante” (literally means “speaking architecture”), and rational architecture. In 1960, in Bordeaux (Gironde department), Gillet, entrusted by the French National School for the Judiciary, was responsible for designing what from now on had to be the only place of education for all the magistrates of France, new institution planned in the judicial reform included in the French Constitution of 1958. This new function, the architect had to embody it within the buildings which contributed to giving a modern image of judiciary. However, the architect could not ignore the most significant features of the law courts buildings, in which the future magistrates would have to practice. By subtle transpositions, by the treatment of spaces or their composing elements, Gillet succeeded in inserting his building within a now long tradition of judicial architecture and within a strong local heritage context. The French National School for the Judiciary, one-of-a-kind institution, took shape slowly, both in its functioning and in its buildings, and was only inaugurated in 1972, twelve years after its creation. Even though it has undergone enlargements and modifications made by other architects, some prominent ones like Richard Rogers, Gillet’s building can still be interpreted today in the light of his innovative programme and his outstanding architecture.
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