History of Art and Architecture 11 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Gabelle Of Salt, Physiocracy, The Infamous
18 Feb 2014
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Haa11 lectures 4/5: ledoux"s saltworks at chaux, northeast france. Completed, then expanded and elaborated in fascinating ways, but only in the architect"s mind. Contrast between architectural landscape and the geometric outline of the town. Elliptical shape diagram, set in the natural world. Chaux is a utopia, the factory did get built, but the town of chaux around it never truly existed. This is indicative of the 18th century reason, nature, and definition of human rights of the enlightenment. Ephemerality, impermanence; the saltworks are somewhat immaterial (on paper) Ledoux was a visionary architect, dealing with ideals on paper that often were not built. Royal endorsement in 1773, construction began 2 years later. It was the first modern factory, announcing the dawn of the industrial revolution. The saltworks were built outside the forest of chaux. During the enlightenment though, real architecture prompted the imagined. Salt is an extremely precious commodity (18th century version of petroleum)
