Gottfried Semper, chroniques parisiennes 1849-1850. Contributions à une architecture comparée

Abstract

Can architectural literature specific to situations of exile be characterized? The act of writing, especially for the press, can contribute to maintaining a public identity of the exile. By reporting on one’s experiences, observations and readings, the exile becomes a critical witness to different aspects of social, cultural and political life within an asylum territory. An examination of the essays written by architect Gottfried Semper during the first year of his career as a political émigré in the second Republic of France brings about interesting insights on this topic. The series of texts he published in Romberg’s Zeitschrift für Praktische Baunkunst (Romberg’s Journal of Practical Architecture) between autumn of 1849 and the winter of 1850 composes a small, yet diverse ensemble which seems to reflect the wanderings of a largely biographically unstable period due to his coverage of a wide array of topics. These essays are certainly linked to different opportunities (travels, building tours, technical observations) and display the impact of friends who offered him asylum. They additionally bring together the fundamental concerns of the architect in connection to the project “Comparative Architecture” on which Semper worked for editor Eduard Vieweg, and which remains unfinished today.

Keywords

• Architectural media
• Exile
• Travel Narrative
• Cast-Iron Architecture