Lavoirs: Washhouses of Rural France - Softcover

Roddier, Mireille

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1568983921 ISBN 13: 9781568983929

Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press, 2003

Synopsis

Lavoirs are sheltered structures with stone basins that use fresh spring water for washing clothes. They dot the landscape in rural France, where until 40 years ago running water was not always a feature in the daily life of the home. It is to these structures - now abandoned and often torn down - where women gathered to wash their laundry and exchange local news. The lavoirs were beautifully designed and executed; but today they are viewed as wasted land value and thus are being razed to make room for other projects. Mireille Roddier, an architect and teacher, has traveled the back roads of rural France hunting down these examples of functional beauty that can date back as far as medieval times. She presents here a history of the lavoir, its role as a place for uncensored gossip, and its legends accompanied by sixty beautiful doutone photographs. There is a website - unrelated to our book - dedicated to lavoirs: http://www.bdrak.com/fount/fintro.htm. There are people out there interested in these structures.

About this title

About the Author

Mireille Roddier is an architect and teacher at the University of Michigan and a graduate of UC Berkeley and U Arizona

Edition details

• Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press
• Publication date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1568983921
• ISBN 13: 9781568983929
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 87