Toulouse. Facades renovation: will the Pink City (re) soon become the White City?
Through Margaux Thokagevistk
Published on
On a sunny day like this Wednesday, September 29, 2021, Toulouse is aptly named after Pink city.
In the alleys of the hyper-center, the sun projects its rays on pink terracotta bricks. A changing pink certainly, which draws on the red-orange on the strokes of noon and darkens in the evening, but which makes the identity and the fame of the fourth city in France.
From the Pink City to the White City?
However, on closer inspection, many facades today sport a white color or a clear coating. To realize this, just take a stroll in the rue des Lois which was revamped in 2017, or a little further on rue Saint-Bernard, near the Basilica of Saint-Sernin.
Here, the contrast is striking between this row of individual houses with white facades, almost immaculate, and the immense pink brick building which houses several shops.
Are these a few exceptions or, on the contrary, are we seeing a step backwards, to the time when even the facade of the Capitol was covered with white paint? Because yes, at the end of the 18th centurye century, for questions of safety and public health, a chapter order obliging the inhabitants to whitewash the exterior walls of their houses in order to have healthier and safer streets, because they are clearer.
It was not until 1949 that white gradually faded from the facades under the will of the elected officials of the time.
I reassure you, there is no desire on the part of the municipality to clarify the city. Toulouse will not lose its architectural identity. When we launch the mandatory facades renovation campaigns, our objective is above all to respect the buildings in their history. Not to denature them. This is why sometimes pink terracotta bricks are not used. ”
Subject to the opinion of the Architect of Buildings of France
This is the case on rue des Lois. If the vast majority of buildings have retained their beautiful pink-red-orange colors so typical of Toulouse, others have a clear, even very light coating.
In this street, there have been no major transformations. Before being renovated, these facades were already in these colors. In any case, for the renovation of buildings located within the perimeter of the safeguarded sector (hyper-center), the room for maneuver is limited. Homeowners can’t do whatever they want. They have to follow a number of rules. “
Indeed, if the building concerned is protected as historical monuments or located within a perimeter of heritage protection, the work even without external modification will be subject to the opinion of theArchitect of the Buildings of France (ABF) whose prescriptions must be respected concerning the choice of materials, colors and restoration techniques.
“Colors and materials” guides
More grants awarded, the Toulouse town hall assists the owners in their procedures, in particular with the possibility of making an appointment with one of their architects.
“The goal is to help them make a precise description of the work planned according to the age of the building, its ornaments… to know how it should be renovated. This is in accordance with ABF requirements. Recommendation brochures – called guides of “colors and materials” – are also made available to them “, detail Claire Nison.
Long, responsible, but necessary steps to preserve the old and contemporary architectural heritage of the city of Toulouse. An architectural identity that still passes today – and hopes for tomorrow – through pink terracotta bricks …
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