The director's house, known as Coignet, is reputed to be the oldest concrete house in France. Despite being added to the Supplementary Inventory of Historic Monuments in June 1998, the house is slowly deteriorating.
Its mouldings, concrete balustrade and cornice make it a masterpiece of world architectural history. The man who built it was François Coignet, a Lyonnais industrialist, inventor of agglomerated concrete and promoter of its use using the pisé technique specific to his home region, the Lyonnais. In 1851, he set up a subsidiary of his company in Saint-Denis. In 1854, he registered a patent for "economical concrete" and opened a second factory. In 1853, for promotional purposes, he and the architect Théodore Lachez decided to build a house near his factory, made of artificial cement rubble.
Around 1860, this new process was used as far afield as England, to build houses that are still standing today. A commission of architects chaired by Henri Labrouste visited the house in 1855, and noted in the "annales de la construction de 1857" that all the work had been carried out in "pisé, moulé et massivé béton".
At 67 rue Charles Michels, the building built for the workers of the Coignet factory underwent a spectacular renovation in 2015.
Around 1860, this new process was used as far afield as England, to build houses that are still standing today. A commission of architects chaired by Henri Labrouste visited the house in 1855, and noted in the "annales de la construction de 1857" that all the work had been carried out in "pisé, moulé et massivé béton".
At 67 rue Charles Michels, the building built for the workers of the Coignet factory underwent a spectacular renovation in 2015.
Openings
Openings
All year 2025 - Open everyday
Location
Location
Environment
Environment
- Close to a public transportation
- Bus stop < 500 m
