François-Joseph Ribart de Chamoust (fl. 1776–1783) was an 18th-century French architect and architectural writer. His first names are unsure but are likely to be François-Joseph, though he has also been called Charles François.
Architectural career
In 1758, Ribart planned an addition to the Champs-Élysées in Paris, to be constructed where the Arc de Triomphe now stands. It consisted of three levels, to be built in the shape of an elephant, with entry via a spiral staircase in the underbelly. The building was to have a form of air conditioning, and furniture that folded into the walls. A drainage system was to be incorporated into the elephant's trunk. The French Government, however, was not amused and turned him down. Napoleon would later conceive a similar construction, the Elephant of the Bastille.
Little of his work now survives.
Notes
- "Ribart de Chamoust". A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. Oxford Reference. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
- Reader's Digest (1981). Strange Stories, Amazing Facts. Sydney: Reader's Digest. p. 492. ISBN 0-89577-028-8.
- Marquis, Caitlin; Sara O'Rourke; Andrea Halpern; Aliza Aufrichtig (2007). "Champs-Élysées: Arc de Triomphe". Let's Go 2008 France. Let's Go Publications. p. 136. ISBN 978-0-312-37453-2.
See also
- James V. Lafferty, American architect who built 3 similar elephant-shaped buildings
- Elephant of the Bastille, a Napoleon-era proposal to build an elephant-shaped fountain in Place de la Bastille.
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