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Hydrology and the Imperial Vision of Bois de Boulogne

2017; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 51; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/00794236.2017.1307634

1745-8137

Kevin Coffee,

Vietnamese History and Culture Studies

SUMMARY: Bois de Boulogne was a key urban design effort of Second Empire France. This essay surveys the landscape of the park with particular attention to water; social practices that engendered the use of water, and social practices which water enabled. The hydrology of the site — the grand lake, streams and waterfalls — is a statement and demonstration of imperial mastery and sensibility. Nearly half of the project budget was devoted to hydraulics and, in the opening years, more than 15% of the municipal water supply was diverted to the park; all of which supported a status-laden array of features attractive to elites of the Second Empire and Third Republic.