Architecture en France » House

Loan or Mortgage?

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 22:49:00 +0000

Today I’d like to discuss about loan and mortgage, lets find out the difference and which one suits you the best for your financial solutions. Loans and home mortgages are asset-acquire facilities that relieve an individual from making immediate lump sum payment. Home equity loan creates a debt against the borrower’s house. According to this loan, the borrower has equity in his home as collateral. Collateral, here, refers to assets or property that creates an obligation debt. In real estate, the borrower’s equity in an asset refers to the difference between the market price of a property, and home equity loan borrowers. Equity is the interest that borrowers pay the loan.

A mortgage, on the other hand, is the process of using property as collateral for debt payments. It is a legal device used to secure assets. By arranging a mortgage, borrowers can obtain housing or commercial real estate, without having to pay full price immediately.

Most home loans require borrowers to have excellent credit history. Therefore, individuals with an average credit history may be denied loans.

- Closed-end Home Equity Loan charges a fixed rate for a period of up to 15 years. Borrowers receive a lump sum on completion, the final steps of the transaction. No further loans can be given to the borrower after the final settlement of real estate transactions are executed. The maximum amount of money that can be given as loans to borrowers depending on his / her history, income and credit assessed value of collateral, and other relevant financial information.

Open-end Home Equity Loan is a revolving credit loans are generally variable rate interest payments. The borrower can decide when and how often to borrow money against the equity. This again is determined on the borrower’s credit history is good, consistent income and other such criteria. These loans are available for a period of up to 30 years.

Mortgage Loans consist of two types: Fixed Rate Mortgage (FRM) and Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM). Individuals can choose between the two depending on their needs, and ability to repay loans.

FRM has a fixed rate of interest, and the amount of fixed monthly payments against the loan amount. The term could be to year FRM 10, 15, 20 or 30. However, some lenders have recently introduced the 40 and 50 years.
ARM interest rate is fixed for a specified period (usually 15 and 30 years), after it is adjusted to market indexes. ARM interest rate is adjusted periodically on a monthly or yearly. Initial level of interest in ARM imposed on the range of 0.5% to 2%

Prospective borrowers should gauge their options carefully before choosing a loan. A well calculated move to save a large amount of money over the term of the loan, so it is necessary to know the details.
And another things for mortgage, when you were on elderly age, at anytime you could do reverse mortgage. Reverse mortgage cost itself would be adjustable with your earning and capabilities.

Medieval Style and Art in France

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 04:44:09 +0000

Top Ten French Gothic Cathedrals

The Gothic style originated in France; the Ile de France and Picardy are dotted with fine cathedrals.These ten cathedrals represent the heights of the Gothic style. But warning; if you get addicted, you’re going to want to search out the others too – Sens and Senlis, Soissons, Noyon, Mantes… you might never stop!
1. Laon is one of the earliest Gothic cathedrals, but its architect created marvellous effects of transparence and depth in the façade and the famous towers. At the top of the towers are the famous bulls of Laon, said to be statues of the oxen which dragged the stone from the quarries up the hill to the cathedral. The church is filled with light, and the pristine simplicity of the architecture makes this little visited cathedral an obligatory stop for any traveller who wants to understand the aspirations of the early Gothic.
2. Chartres cathedral rises on a hill above the river Eure and the cornfields of Beauce. This is Gothic style at its most classic and powerful. The west front and transept porches are finely carved with figures of prophets and saints, and much of the original stained glass survives. The little figures of the donors at the bottoms of the windows, all exercising their trades – furriers, carpenters, bakers – are worth seeking out for an unusually realistic view of medieval life.
3. Notre Dame, Paris is perhaps not the finest of the Gothic cathedrals, and lost most of its furnishings in the French Revolution. But the façade, an almost square, monumental form, shows perfectly how the Gothic style uses geometrical proportions to create strongly articulated architecture.
4. Bourges is the most visionary of French cathedrals – a single, huge, open space without transept or narthex to break the pattern. Its double aisles are arranged so that the central aisle is a miniature copy of the nave of the church, with its own triforium and clerestory – as if the cathedral had been sliced in two and a new one inserted into the middle. As at Chartres, the stained glass is original – and since much of it is in the side chapels, close-up viewing is possible.
5. Amiens cathedral is massive – the biggest Gothic cathedral in France. And it’s a very pure Gothic style – simple, light, serene. The west front is full of carved detail, including symbols of the labours of the months and the virtues and vices as well as Biblical personages and local saints.
6. Reims cathedral was where the French kings were crowned; royal patronage made it a wealthy and strikingly beautiful building. The statues of the west façade – particularly the ‘smiling angel’ – have a grace and plasticity that make them the summit of the Gothic style in sculpture. Inside, the sheer height of the church is amazing.
7. Strasbourg cathedral’s lace like façade is a marvel, particularly when the setting sun brings out the redness of the sandstone. Inside, the famous astronomical clock provides a kitsch counterpoint to the glories of the Gothic nave.
8. Beauvais was the most ambitious of the Gothic cathedrals. Pride becomes before a fall, though, and after two separate vault collapses, the masons just gave up – the building was never finished. Even the stub of the church, though, is impressive – the highest and lightest work that the Gothic ever produced.
9. Albi cathedral is very different from any of the northern cathedrals. Its southern Gothic style is massive and ponderous, not light and transparent, and as if to stress the difference, it’s built in brick, not stone. But though the exterior looks like a fortress, inside it’s a treasure house of art, including fine frescoes, a painted vault, and a rood screen covered in painted statues.
10. The little-known Saint-Bertrand de Comminges isn’t one of the architectural masterpieces of France. But with its mixture of Romanesque narthex and Gothic nave, and its fine stained glass and Renaissance choir stalls, it’s one of those delightful places where every age has left its impression and every glance discovers new beauties. And how could you miss out a cathedral with its own stuffed crocodile?

City of Lights Has to Offer

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 04:31:18 +0000

Planning for a trip, or just dreaming of going to Paris? There are a few things that must be done, and sights that must be seen. Here is an itinerary for the city of lights.
Architecture in Paris
The main architectural sites, can, for the most part be done in a day. The Eiffel Tower, the Notre Dame, and the Arc de Triumph are among that list. Recommendations: Be sure to go inside the Notre Dame, the stained glass windows can not be appreciated from outside, and the building is a magnificent piece of art. The Eiffel tower is of course a must, but don’t forget to view it from all angles of the city. Go to the Arc de Triumph at night, and buy the ticket to go to the top. The view is breathe-taking, and try to go on the hour because the Eiffel tower has a glimmering lights show for the first five minutes of each hour on the hour, and it is truly a sight to see from the top of the Arc.
Food In Paris
Breakfast or petit déjeuner as the French call it, is an important meal. Start the day off as any Parisian, at a local cafe. Hint: try not to gravitate to restaurants and cafes with English names and menus. The best restaurants in the city are the truly authentic ones. Want to keep it simple? Grab a quick pastry and a cafe au lait.
Bakery’s and good wine are two things that Paris knows how to do, and while visiting the city they should be a staple of the traveler’s diet. When dining the house wines are not only a great bargain, but also a very tastey choice.
Museums in Paris
Museums are a plenty in Paris, and it is tough to get to them all. However, there are a few that cannot be missed.
• Louvre Museum – Home of the always famous Mona Lisa, and Venus de Milo, the Louvre offers a historical look at art. The builiding itself is a peice of art as well as history, according to the Louvre.fr, The Louvre, has dominated central Paris since the late 12th century. The dark fortress of the early days was transformed into the modernized dwelling of François I and, later, the sumptuous palace of the Sun King, Louis XIV.
• Musee D’Orsay – Here, one will see some of the most notable artist in history including: Monet, Degas, Cezanne, Renoir, and Toulouse Lautrec to name a few.
Other Things to do in Paris
Beyond the site seeing and the eating Paris offers a great amount of culture, the gardens in Paris are a great place to stop for lunch and people watch. Walking along the Seine River will offer some of the greatest views of the city. Paris is also known for its fashion, take a stroll down the Champs Elysees and take a peak at the many shops full of French design.

franklin azzi architecture: passive house, normandy france

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 04:29:55 +0000

franklin azzi architecture designed ‘passive house’, through renovating a former
hunting house in normandy, france. the extension consists of wood, canvas covers
a camouflage of the cuban army. above is a wooden terrace overlooking the valley.
slabs of the house to the left and right include a heated floor and external industrial
sockets. in front of the house is a bunker made from concrete for an office.

the project meets the requirements of high environmental quality as it includes
rainwater collection, the use of solar energy (hybrid) and geothermal energy, and reduction
of raw material by optimizing the efforts to structure. the assembly of the structure was done
on site with all recyclable materials from a distance of 100km. wood and vegetable fibers
are used for the walls providing insulation and windows provide natural ventilation, etc.

FRANCE, ARCHITECTURE.

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 04:27:45 +0000

French architecture of the early modern period is characterized by three main tendencies: the survival of Gothic technology and form, the influence of Italian and ancient models of classicism, and the effort to form a strong French architectural language. Political and social overtones varied in the Renaissance, with ancient and Italian classical influences gradually merging with a lively Late Gothic tradition to express cultivation and splendor. In the seventeenth century, French kings elaborated universal principles and state institutions to express their political and cultural ambitions. Finally, in the eighteenth century, architecture itself was redefined as an instrument of social change.
THE RENAISSANCE
After Charles VIII returned from his Italian military campaigns in 1495, strong Gothic traditions were given a new patina of Italianate structure and ornament. For example, on the court side of the Francis I wing of the château (residential castle) of Blois (Loire Valley, 1515–1524), a typically Gothic spiral staircase, disengaged on three sides, is covered with Renaissance ornaments such as medallions and balusters. Soon, a series of royal châteaus showed a more radical reorganization of plans and external forms, as seen in the château of Chambord (Loire Valley, 1519–c. 1559) and the seven châteaus in the Île-de-France region (including Madrid, Fontainebleau, and St.-Germain-en-Laye) built during the last years of the reign of Francis I (1515–1547).
In the last projects of Francis I, from 1540, and during the reign of Henry II (1547–1559), the French digested Italian models and devised their own versions of them. Many French architects traveled to Italy, and some, such as Jacques Androuet du Cerceau (c. 1520–c. 1585) and Philibert Delorme (1514–1570), produced books. Other publications on ancient architecture, Renaissance buildings, and idealized architectural designs were translated into French or written by Italian architects invited to the French court. As in Italy, the new model for the architect of this generation was no longer the medieval mason but the cultivated man of ancient learning. The portion of the Louvre by Pierre Lescot (Paris, c. 1546–1578) and Delorme’s Anet (Eure-et-Loire, from 1547) are two of the most remarkable and exemplary châteaus of the times. Because of its fundamental changes, this period, which closes with the reign of Henry IV (1589–1610), is called the “Second Renaissance.”
Until early in the seventeenth century, churches resisted all but the most superficial changes. The massive vertical paired bell towers and deep-set porches of the facade of St.-Michel of Dijon (1520–1560) are reminiscent of Late Gothic churches, despite their classical ornaments. The same can be said for the overall Gothic plans and structures of the churches of St.-Gervais (1494–1621) and St.Eustache (1532–1637) in Paris.
A pioneering hôtel (noble town house) called the Grand Ferrare (Fontainebleau, 1542–1546), completed by Sebastiano Serlio, set the standard for domestic architecture. Residences in towns and in the countryside were soon patterned on its biaxial symmetry and the en suite planning of its apartments. Classical forms became more prominent, as in Serlio’s Ancy-le-Franc (Burgundy, from 1546), but medieval features persisted, as in the new design for the defensive towers, traditionally round but now squared into corner pavilions. The death of Henry II in 1559 was followed by a period of religious conflict (the Wars of Religion, 1562–1598) and economic strife during which little was built.
THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY AND THE BIRTH OF THE GRAND STYLE
The reign of Henry IV launched a two-hundred-year building boom in the private sector to satisfy the social ambitions of a rising middle class. While the symmetrical Grand Ferrare remained the ideal in domestic architecture, in Paris the Hôtel Lambert (Louis Le Vau, begun 1641) and the Hôtel de Beauvais (Antoine Le Pautre, 1654–1660) demonstrate how natural features and the constraints of the site could be ingeniously masked and turned to advantage. Elegant places royales (royal squares) attracted private building around them (in Paris, the Place Royale, today the Place des Vosges, 1605, and the Place Dauphine, from 1607). Designed with uniform facades framing a statue of the king, several of these squares were built in Paris as well as in many other towns from the late seventeenth through the eighteenth century.
Two outstanding châteaus were built to express bids for political power—Maisons (Île-de-France, 1641–1660) for René de Longueil by François Mansart (1598–1666), and Vaux-le-Vicomte (1657–1661) for Nicolas Fouquet by Le Vau (1612–1670). Vaux-le-Vicomte imported from Italy the idea of one artist (in this case Charles Le Brun, 1619–1690) coordinating the décor, architecture, and garden design. Louis XIV (1643–1715) transplanted the entire artistic team, including the garden designer AndréLeNôtre (1613–1700), and even the very trees of Vaux to Versailles (Le Vau, 1668–1670; Jules Hardouin-Mansart, 1678–1689), thereby announcing the royal cultural hegemony from the outset of his personal reign (from 1661). The Sun King’s authority radiated from the palace, the satellite palaces, extensive gardens, hunting grounds, and the newly built town that constituted the country’s new administrative and cultural capital.
An upsurge of religious building, mostly during the reign of Louis XIII (1610–1643), saw revitalized religious orders rebuild numerous monasteries and churches. Church facades followed two models: the pedimented portico of the Pantheon of Rome or the two-story facade of the church of Il Gesù in Rome (Giacomo della Porta, begun 1571). These were emulated in the street and court entrances of Jacques Lemercier’s Church of the Sorbonne (Paris, 1630–c. 1648). In a more vertical French variation, the facades of St. Gervais (Paris, Salomon de Brosse, 1616–1621) and St.-Louis (Paris, today known as St.-Paul–St.-Louis, Étienne Martellange, begun in 1627) added a third level of orders (a system of proportions, columns, capitals and entablatures). Likewise, French domes were often more vertical than their Italian counterparts. They were placed closer to the facades, as in the Dome of the Invalides (Paris, Jules Hardouin-Mansart, 1676–1706), with tall drums and wooden beams raising the external profile.
Architectural historians traditionally contrasted the “baroque” “exuberance” and “persuasiveness” of Italian architects with the “classical” “reserve” and “rectilinearity” of their French counterparts. However, recently historians have pointed out the cross-fertilization and common agendas between the two. Palladian and Roman influences abound in Le Vau’s work, as in the curved wings and loosely connected pavilions of the Collège des Quatre Nations (Paris, College of the Four Nations, today the Institut de France, 1662–1670). As Claude Mignot (1989) aptly observes, the long-spanned entablature supported by freestanding columns on the east facade of the Louvre (projects from 1657; attributed to Claude Perrault, 1667) was no less “persuasive” than Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s curvaceous colonnade in front of St. Peter’s.
In the years 1640 to 1690 Lemercier, Pierre Le Muet, Le Vau, François Mansart, and Jules Hardouin-Mansart together reestablished the French “grand style.” They shunned mannerist excess of ornament and embraced a clearer expression of volume and the relation of the parts to the whole. New royal institutions—the Royal Academy of Architecture, founded in 1671, and the offices of first architect to the king and the surintendant des bâtiments (superintendent of king’s buildings), effectively a minister of culture—served as forums for articulating these rules of “good taste.”
CLASSICAL REFORM IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY
The rococo style developed in the first half of the eighteenth century in reaction to the oppressive court life of Versailles in the latter part of the reign of Louis XIV. Primarily ornamental and used in interiors of domestic architecture, its forms were characterized by asymmetrical and sensual curves. Germain Boffrand (1667–1754) added a rococo masterpiece to the Hôtel de Soubise in the oval salons “de la princesse” and “du prince” (Paris, 1735–1739). Combining painting, gilding, sculpture, windows, mirrors, and multitudes of candles, he produced a bright and weightless effect. Here, all was sensual ease and luxury. Rococo set the stage for the rethinking of classical forms and the appeal to the senses on a deeper level that were characteristic of neoclassical architecture in the second half of the eighteenth century.
Neoclassicism sought to reform architectural taste through structural rationalism, an ethnographic interest in antiquity, the sensory power of architecture in nature, and social reform. Marc-Antoine Laugier (Essai sur l’architecture, 1753) argued for simplified structures and thus proposed a return to origins through imitation of a mythical “primitive hut.” Antique-style trabeation and long, unbroken entablatures seem to structure the Pantheon, Giovanni Nicolo Servandoni’s facade design for the church of St.-Sulpice (Paris, begun in 1732), and Jacques Gondouin’s School of Surgery (Paris, 1769–1775). Empirical knowledge of Gothic construction, however, underlay Jacques-Germain Soufflot’s (1713–1780) church of Ste.-Geneviève (Paris, known today as the Pantheon, 1757–1789). A more technical interest in structure and functional building types was fostered by the strengthened institutions of civil and military engineering, the École des Ponts et Chaussées and the École du Génie de Mezières, founded in 1747 and 1748, respectively.
Leading French artists spent several years at the French Academy in Rome (founded in 1666), a major international art center at the time. The new archaeological discoveries of Paestum, Herculaneum (1738), and Pompeii (1748) fanned their enthusiasm for reexamining classical architecture. Mid-century publications about Greek ruins, by James Stuart and Nicholas Revett and by Julien-David Leroy and about Roman ruins, by Giovanni Battista Piranesi, emphasized visual poetry and powerful forms through light, scale, and setting. Leroy underscored how architecture existed in historical and ethnographic contexts, thus encouraging architects to invent appropriate forms for their times.
Architecture parlante, a term associated with the next generation and with the approach of the French Revolution (1789–1799), sought to mold form and ornament to express a building’s purpose and thereby inspire social reform. Étienne-Louis Boullée’s (1728–1799) striking project for a cenotaph to Newton (1784), in the form of an astronomical observatory, commemorated the scientist’s genius. Its dramatic spherical form and lighting effects would awe the visitor who entered its orb via a long, dark tunnel. Claude-Nicolas Ledoux (1736–1806) used classical forms in a more expressive manner in a ring of tollhouses (1784–c. 1790) around Paris. Ledoux thought that new plans and building types would encourage social reform; a notable example of such a socially motivated project was his centrally planned industrial community, the Salt Works at Arc-et-Senans (1773–1779). New social agendas also meant that new building types emerged; one example was the freestanding monumental theater, such as Victor Louis’s theater in Bordeaux (c. 1773–1780) and Marie-Joseph Peyre and Charles de Wailly’s Théâtre de l’Odéon in Paris (1767–1782). Due to the Revolution, few buildings were built during the last decade of the eighteenth century.