For this second instalment of our tour of Art Deco Perpignan, thirteen of us met on Thursday morning, 4th June, at Place Molière, just below the famous Maison Rouge, for a private tour. What followed were two enchanting hours exploring this neighbourhood of Perpignan, situated between the old southern ramparts and Boulevard Jean Bourrat.
Our guide from the Tourist Office, Martine, who is just as knowledgeable about the history of her city as she is about Art Deco, reminded us of the various interpretations of Art Deco in Roussillon, which incorporated regional characteristics as well as the ‘ocean liner style’ of the 1930s…
The tour highlighted architect-designed houses and apartment blocks, the investment properties they designed, as well as the homes by entrepreneurs and bricklayers…
We spent quite some time admiring two buildings designed by two leading figures of Art Deco architecture in Perpignan. First of all, the building on Rue Ramon Lull which was built by Edouard Mas Chancel and completed in 1938. It combines regionalism and Art Deco and was designed to serve as both his home and his practice. Secondly, the building on Boulevard Jean Bourrat, also designed by Ferid Muchir as an architect’s studio and family home, completed in 1951 and subsequently extended with a block of flats in 1959.
At the end of this informative and very well-researched tour, we understand why Perpignan has been awarded the additional ‘20th-century heritage’ label to recognise specifically its Art Deco heritage. There are around 1,000 buildings in this style in the city.
And you know what?
It seems that many of us, delighted by this morning’s tour, would very much like to add a third part to this diptych. So, when will the next tour of another neighbourhood in Perpignan take place? It seems we’ll be spoilt for choice.