The Léon Daures Archives
The descendants of architect Léon Daures have donated all of his files/notes/drawings to the government of the Tarn. You might not recognise his name but if you’ve been to Albi and seen the Triumphal Arch (aka monument aux morts) near the cathedral – well that was done by him.
He was also responsible for the Caisse d’Epargne in Albi, Foucaud in Gaillac and Chateau Bellevue.
Caisse d’Epargne, Albi
An employee of the French version of the National Trust (architectural heritage inventory) came by yesterday to have a look at number 42 and brought me some fascinating papers as Mr. Daures also happened to be the architect for this house.
The most interesting part is how the drawings evolved. The house begins with considerably more architectural decorations, less french doors, and a much smaller roof space (which would have meant a much smaller third floor).
Let’s play spot the differences
My Mazamet 
love this kind of stuff. Wish I knew more about my house, though it probably just was a farmhouse on the outskirts until the city grew out to it.
BTW, I finally got a camellia bush! It only took a few years after you posted about yours. 🙂 It’s my birthday camellia, https://www.monrovia.com/plant-catalog/plants/5787/april-tryst-camellia/
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That camellia’s one of my favourites!!! The flowers are so perfect sometimes people touch them to check if they’re real 😀
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I can see why. I think having camellias may grow into a minor addiction. Thanks to climate change, my area, which was a zone 6 in the USDA frost map, is now a zone 7a, This means I can grow a lot more things, but also means more bugs. ugh.
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They do very well with colder temperatures too. Ours flowered all through the snow this year.
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He was really fussing over that roof.
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I think they made him because 100% of the roof is designed for use; it’s the staff floor and has five bedrooms, a living area and closets 🙂 I imagine they were trying to avoid having to build another structure for the help.
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That would explain why the chimneys kept changing. I always find it interesting to see design processes as they develop. People think creating anything just magically produces a finished product. There’s often a lot of small things that are important.
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I should like the architect of my home drawn and quartered. I’ve faced untold horrors doing renovations :p
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Really? I’m kind of in awe of ours. Every little corner was considered and finished in a really careful way 🙂
Did you do more than the bathroom and kitchen or was that enough?
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OOOH! How fantastic to see the development of the house design. Absolutely wonderful
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I was thrilled. She came just to do a basic inventory of the architecture and ended up staying three hours. Some of the floor plan options were just awful. I’m glad they ended up choosing the plan that suits me best 😀
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He must have known you were destined to have it
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It’s great to see the original plans. They would look great under glass in a frame.
We have the originals for ours.
Some of the added-on bits on our home are awful, to tell the truth, but it is always interesting to see how a property develops over time. Maybe one day we will bring it back to what it was in 1924?
I have great admiration for what you guys have done/are doing to your property.
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Thanks! The challenge of making it into a house that’s usable and relevant in this day and age is sometimes daunting, but it’s beginning to look very achievable 🙂
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What a treat to have someone interested enough in their job to bring you over those plans.
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She’s wonderfully enthusiastic, which is indeed a treat 🙂
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Hah! That’s amazing, Pinky. My Mum and Dad used to own a Federation Edwardian house that was mentioned in a small book about the locality, but nothing like being ‘related’ to such a famous architect. Did you know any of this before you and Mike bought the house?
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No! After we moved in we saw the plans (with his name) and even then the penny didn’t drop 😀 It was only when this woman mentioned the arch in Albi that it sunk in 😀
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lmao – you’re slipping Pinky! Just kidding. We see what we expect to see, but isn’t it amazing how special No.42 really is?
If I believed in fate I’d say you were destined to buy it and restore it.
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Luck was definitely on our side on this one – which is a nice change since the financial crisis years were so very tough. We couldn’t be more pleased, and not just with the house, but also the town, nature around here, the services, everything 🙂
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Yes, it all came together for you in Mazamet. The Offspring and I felt the same way when we moved to Warrandyte. Despite the bushfire danger each summer, there’s a community here that makes us both feel safe. And happy. 🙂
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Personally I prefer the earlier renditions with the more busy brick work. It adds interest, variation to the eye instead of just a flat wall. I like obviously the corners of your building where we see the raised brickwork survived the revisions. Hopefully the shutter painting project when it arrives, will kind of brighten the facade.
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I just love the first one. The balance is wonderful. But do you remember the picture from the 50’s with the wisteria? There are plants growing on every single one of the outside walls. I think they toned down the decoration to allow for the planting to have a more prominent role
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