Hector Guimard

France

Person

Designer

Born 10 March 1867 Lyon, France Died 20 May 1942 New York, New York, USA Hector Guimard enrolled at the École nationale des arts décoratifs in Paris in 1882 and later continued his architectural studies at the École des beaux-arts. Following early projects such as the Pavillon de l’Électricité for the 1889 World’s Fair and the Hôtel Jassedé in Paris, a journey to Belgium in 1894–95 proved decisive for his development. His encounter with Victor Horta and the Hôtel Tassel influenced the design of the Castel Béranger in Paris (1894–98), the first building in what later became known as the “Style Guimard”. Among his major works were Villa Berthe in Le Vésinet, Castel Henriette in Sèvres, the Hôtel Nozal in Paris, and his own house on Avenue Mozart. He achieved international recognition through the design of the Paris Métro entrances, for which he used prefabricated iron components from about 1899/1900 onward, later applying similar principles to furniture design. In 1903 he co-founded the Salon d’automne in Paris. After the First World War, he developed prefabricated workers’ housing in response to the housing shortage. In 1938 he left Paris with his wife Adeline Oppenheim and settled in New York.