Gaston Castel
Gaston Castel (1886-1971) is a DPLG architect based in Marseille and active from 1918 to 1971 in France, mainly in the southeast, and in Brazil.
Originally from Pertuis (Vaucluse), sons and grandsons of fountainers and building contractors, Gaston Castel was destined very early for architecture. After having been a pupil of the Ecole Normale d'Aix-en-Provence and having validated the first part of the baccalaureate, he prepares, from 1901, the entrance examination of the architecture section of the Ecole Nationale et Spéciale des Beaux-arts de Paris (ENSBA) within the architecture class of the Ecole des Beaux-arts de Marseille. Received in January 1906, he studied successively at the Ecole régionale d'architecture de Marseille of which he was one of the first students (Eugene Sénès workshop, from January to October 1906), then at the ENSBA in Paris (from October 1906 to November 1917 with a break during the war, Louis Bernier workshop) of which he graduated in 1917 after a brilliant curriculum. Despite an impressive number of awards (more than ten medals and as many prizes), Gaston Castel does not obtain the supreme distinction – the Grand Prix of Rome – but a second Grand Prix which, if he does not open the doors of the Villa Medici, however, it allows him to claim an official career. He created a first agency in Paris, the «Trois Arts» agency with the architect Paul Tournon (1881-1964), the painter François Carrera (1889- ?) and the sculptor Antoine Sartorio (1885-1988).
The First World War irreparably overturned the destiny of Gaston Castel, making the young man a broken Face. Mobilized on August 9, 1914, after two months on the front, he was seriously wounded during an assault: on September 26, he lost his ear and his right eye.
Initially captive in Bavaria, Gaston Castel benefited in 1916 from an exchange of prisoners that allowed his transfer to Montreux (Switzerland) where he completed his convalescence. Putting all his energy «to the only homeland of the Arts», he initiates «with his professional comrades, convalescent or cured» a spectacular project of sanatorium of the Allies (1917, not realized). Upon his return to civilian life, Gaston Castel was appointed deputy architect of the Bouches-du-Rhône department on 1 May 1918. Under the direction of Louis Chauvet, chief architect of the department, he carried out a few operations (Aubagne War Memorial, 1920) and worked on the plan of development, extension and embellishment of the Marseilles region. He soon asked for a one-year leave without pay from 1 December 1920 to travel to the United States to study the extension of American ports. Finally, he devoted this availability to a trip to Brazil where, in collaboration with his friend Antoine Sartorio, he made a monument celebrating the country’s independence (Santos, 1921-1922).
In 1921, his success in the competition launched by the city of Marseille for the reconstruction of the Municipal Opera (in collaboration with Henri Ebrard and Georges Raymond, 1923-1924) which had been almost entirely destroyed by a fire in 1919, brings Gaston Castel back to Marseille from where he will carry out his entire career. Holding the official position of deputy architect (1918-1926 with an interruption between 1920-1921 during his stay in Brazil) then chief architect (1926-1941) of the department of Bouches-du-Rhône and that, liberal, patron of a major agency (1920-1971), Gaston Castel was a key player in the regional architectural scene until his death in 1971. Like the majority of architects active during the first half of the 20th century, he showed a certain eclecticism in his creative approach, referring to the Beaux-Arts aesthetic of which he was nourished during his studies, regional styles, the Art Deco trend or the more radical aesthetics advocated by the architects of the Modern Movement.
The status of architect of the department covers several missions (advice, expertise, administrative monitoring, etc.) among which the project management of buildings financed, in whole or in part, by the General Council. Between 1918 and 1941, Gaston Castel, in collaboration with his three assistants – Jean Rasonglès (1905?), Henri Lyon (1885- ?) and Ludovic Mistral (1889- ?) – designed most of the department’s new equipment, be it health facilities. (Departmental Retreat Asylum of Montolivet, Marseilles, 1921-1942; Lay Orphanage of Saint Joseph, Marseilles, 1922-1939; Arbois Sanatorium, Aix-en-Provence, 1932-1935; Mental Hygiene Centre of Timone, Marseilles, 1931-1941), of justice buildings (annex of the Palais de Justice, Marseille, 1931-1933; Baumettes prisons, Marseille, 1936-1940), primary and secondary schools (Paul Doumer School Group, La Fare les Oliviers, 1930-1934; St. Martin de Crau School Group, 1930-1938; Berre Girls School, 1931-1932; Dézarnaud School, Berre School, 1933-1937; Jean Jaurès School, Peynier School, 1936-1938; Port de Bouc Boys School, 1937-1943; boys' college in Tarascon, 1935-1936; girls' college Ampère, Arles, 1932-1933; Ecole des métiers Louis Pasquet, Arles, 1927-1929; Benjamin Abram university city, Aix-en-Provence, 1931-1935), sports equipment (Aubagne Municipal Stadium, 1919-1922; Berre Municipal Stadium, 1936-1937; Arenas of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, 1932-1933) or other structures (Cavaillon Bridge, 1932, destroyed in 1944; entrances to the Rove Tunnel, Marseille, 1925-1927).
The title of chief architect of the department favors Gaston Castel’s access to private control. Patron of an important agency occupying the ground floor of his private mansion on the Rue Croix-de-Victorier (1924), he elaborates a consequent work, both in quantitative terms – 782 projects were identified in 2009 during the establishment of the directory of the Castel archives by the Departmental Archives of the Bouches-du-Rhône – and qualitative.
It intervenes in the field of housing building buildings and residences but also individual houses (villa L'Eolienne, Marseille, 1929) and social housing groups (nearly twenty HBM groups during the Interwar period and then housing groups during the growing years). Gaston Castel took part in the reconstruction of the Old Port as group head architect and operation architect (Group II).
He built industrial and commercial equipment (Compagnie générale transatlantique, 1928-1929; Grand garage of the Promenade des Anglais, Nice, 1926; Arbois Hotel, Marseille, 1936-1942; Air France building, Marseille, 1949-1955; Imperial Hotel, Bastia, 1949-1951) as well as administrative buildings (Hôtel de Douanes, Marseille, in collaboration with Marius Dallest and Jean Rozan, 1929-1930; Cité administrative Saint-Charles, from 1951; consular palace of Ajaccio-Sartène, 1950-1959; many post offices and town halls in the Bouches-du-Rhône).
Finally, he endowed Marseille and the surrounding cities with memorials (monument to the heroes of the Eastern army and distant lands, Marseille, 1927; monument Pax, Marseille, 1936-1937; Memorial of the Resistance, Ramatuelle, 1959).
Gaston Castel’s interest in urban planning issues can be seen in his many theoretical contributions (Marseille et l'Urbanisme, 1932; Marseille Métropole, 1934) and projectives to the development of the city of Marseille: development of the Bourse’s land (1924 to 1952) Plan d'aménagement et d'extension de Marseille (in collaboration with Jacques Gréber, 1933); development of the Rive-Neuve wharf (1933 to 1944); development of the Old Port district (1946 to 1959).
Finally, in addition to his work as a practitioner, Gaston Castel was head of workshop at the Ecole régionale d'architecture de Marseille from 1922 to 1952, marking several generations of local practitioners with his teaching.
Sources
Archives
- AN AJ 52 417, Dossier de Gaston Castel dans la section architecture de l’Ecole nationale supérieure des Beaux-arts de Paris.
- AN CAC 19771065 art. 51, Dossier de Gaston Castel auprès du Ministère de la Reconstruction et de l'Urbanisme.
- Centre d'archives d'architecture du XXe siècle, Fonds Adda, Dossier 218 Ifa 136/2.
- Centre d'archives d'architecture du XXe siècle, Fonds Beaudouin, Dossiers 265 AA ó, 265 AA 1/3, 265 AA 33.
- Centre d'archives d'architecture du XXe siècle, Fonds Bernard, Dossier 266 AA 50/2.
- Centre d'archives d'architecture du XXe siècle, Fonds Hennebique, Dossiers 076 Ifa 1923/6, 076 Ifa 3189/8, 076 Ifa 3210/21, 076 Ifa 3230/13 to 076 Ifa 3230/15, 076 Ifa 1968/28, 076 Ifa 3307/20, 076 Ifa 2003/7, 076 Ifa 2324/20.
- Centre d'archives d'architecture du XXe siècle, Fonds Dumail, Dossier 525 AP 19/8.
- Centre d'archives d'architecture du XXe siècle, Fonds SADG, Dossiers 179 Ifa 2/21 to 179 Ifa 2/25.
- Centre d'archives d'architecture du XXe siècle, Fonds Perret, Dossiers 523 AP 454/2, 535 AP 662/1, 535 AP 454/1.
- Centre d'archives d'architecture du XXe siècle, Fonds Tournon, Dossier 351 AA 2/9.
- AD 13 86 J, Castel Fund.
- AD 13 4 N and 103 W, Fonds de la Préfecture: construction of departmental buildings.
- AD 13 3 O, Prefecture Fund, Municipal Works.
- AD 13 15 Fi, Prefecture Fund, Municipal Works.
- AD 13 T 12 and 131 W, Fonds de la Préfecture, Constructions scolaires.
- AD 13 6 S, Equipment Fund, Maritime Service.
- AD 13 7 FTE, Public Planning and Construction Board Fund.
- AD 13 86 Fi, Detailed Fund.
- AD 13 M 1 610, Dossier d'architecte départemental des Bouches-du-Rhône de Gaston Castel.
- AM Marseille, 31 R 144, Fonds de l'école des Beaux-arts. Registration register for young people.
- AM Marseille, Fonds 3 O, Bâtiments communaux.
- Musée d'Histoire de Marseille, Fonds Castel.
The numerous references in the archives of the various municipalities in which Gaston Castel was involved are not yet indicated.
Bibliography
- Chiavassa Isabelle (eds.), Gasnault François (eds.), Les Castel. Une agence d'architecture au XXe siècle, Marseille, Parenthèses/Archives départementales des Bouches-du-Rhône, 2009.
- Drocourt Daniel (eds.), Gaston Castel, Marseilles architect, Aix-en-Provence/Marseille, Edisud/Marseille Museums, 1988.
- Reimbold Emmanuelle, Dossier de presse de présentation de l'ouvrage Les Castel, une agence d'architecture au XXe siècle, unpublished document, Archives départementales des Bouches-du-Rhône, Marseille, 2010.
Printed sources
The numerous references to printed sources, notably the articles written by Gaston Castel and those devoted to his achievements that document his work, are not currently listed.
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