The most spectacular projects of Gustave Eiffel besides the Eiffel Tower

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

On December 15, 1832, Gustave Eiffel was born - the famous French architect who designed the building that has become a symbol of Paris and France - the Eiffel Tower. The tower brought world fame to the Eiffel (despite the fact that at first the public categorically rejected it). But the architect worked both before the construction of the tower, and, of course, after. We decided to tell you about the most beautiful buildings in it.

Nyugati Train Station, Budapest, Hungary

Nyugati Railway Station is one of the main train stations in Budapest.

Nyugati Railway Station is one of the main train stations in Budapest. It was built in 1874-77 under the direction of Gustave Eiffel. The old station building no longer met the necessary requirements, but Eiffel decided not to demolish it, but built a new one right on top of the old one. The architect's project was absolutely avant-garde for his contemporaries. The main pillar of the building, a cast metal frame, is concealed by a graceful glass façade.

Department store "Bon Marche", Paris, France

Bon Marche is the oldest department store in the French capital. Eiffel designed it in 1876. He equipped the building with elements that were revolutionary for that time - a glass roof and cast-iron bridges, thereby setting the fashion for decorating buildings with functional metal parts.

Iron House, Iquitos, Peru

The iron building, compared to the traditional wooden ones, seemed like a real luxury.

In 1887, Eiffel designed a huge mansion in Peru for local millionaire Anselmo de Aguila. The iron building, compared to the traditional wooden ones, seemed like a real luxury. In practice, however, the house turned out to be unsuitable for life. Equatorial rains corroded the metal, and it required expensive maintenance, and the sun heated the same metal to enormous temperatures. Today, this building houses sovereign shops and cafes.

Maria Pia bridge, Portugal

Eiffel designed not only buildings, but also bridges and viaducts. The bridge over the Douro River in Portugal is also called the Air Bridge. In 1875, a competition was announced for the design of a bridge that would shorten the route between the cities of Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia. The best was the Eiffel project. As usual, the architect applied innovative building designs. The bridge is 160 meters long and rises 60 meters above the river. Since 1991, the use of the bridge was discontinued, but it received the status of a national monument.

Statue of Liberty, New York, USA

Gustave Eiffel had a hand in the symbol not only of France, but also of America.

Gustave Eiffel had a hand in the symbol of not only France, but also America, and the American building earlier than the French one (about 10 years earlier). The sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, in charge of the Statue of Liberty, asked Eiffel to help him with its internal construction. He came up with a steel support and an intermediate frame that allows the statue to remain upright.