Les hôtels de région à Orléans et à Limoges : les « palais en pierre » d’un nouveau pouvoir

Abstract

The two ‘hôtels de région’ built for the regions of Centre-Val-de-Loire and the Limousin, inaugurated respectively in 1981 at Orléans and 1989 at Limoges, seem to be rather a-typical in the corpus of new hotels de region built during this period. The neo-classical style of these two ‘stone palaces’, as they were described by the architect Christian Langlois, who developed this style during the preceding years in his extensions for the Senate at Paris, seems to be in marked contrast with the accepted canons of architecture at the time. Analysis suggests that within the neo-classical outer shell, the interior organisation, designed by the Arsène-Henry brothers, was more contemporary. After a presentation of the architects of the two buildings, our article goes on to present the specific features of the two creations. Despite formal similarities, the two buildings are manifestations of an evolution in the nature of the regional authority which was a public regional establishment (EPR) in 1972 but became a fully-fledged regional authority in 1982. A first synthesis will look at the way the buildings materialised the new centre of power and expressed regional and republican ideas. We will also look at the critical reception accorded to the two buildings before attempting an analysis of the special place they occupy in contemporary architecture.

Keywords

• urban renewal
• concrete
• « Hôtel de région »
• EPR (public regional establishment)
• consultation views
• historical monuments surroundings