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Jean Fombertaux (1920–1976, Sydney, Australia) was a French émigré architect who spent most of his career designing buildings in and around Sydney.^[1] His style was exemplary of Sydney architecture during the 1960s and was significant to the modernist movement.

Life

Fombertaux was born in Nice, France and was brought up in the French colonies of South East Asia. The adolescent Fombertaux arrived in Australia when he was sixteen years old, after fleeing the war. His father worked in the French Foreign Service^{[citation needed]} and he had to endure a strict upbringing. In later years, Fombertaux studied architecture at the Sydney Technical College with Russell Jack and Bruce Rickard and graduated in 1947.^[2] Like many of the Sydney-based architects, Fombertaux chose to build his own house on the North Shore where he built one of Australia’s iconic houses, the Fombertaux House. In the year of the house's completion, Fombertaux was offered a position in the office of Le Corbusier, but never returned to France to take the offer. His son, André Fombertaux, has spent most of his life has living in and working on Fombertaux House.

Architecture

Jean Fombertaux was raised in a pokey and dim Federation era house; his style of architecture was in revolt against such environments and was heavily influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright and Alvar Aalto. Fombertaux's style has been likened to that of Harry Seidler, with whom he collaborated for an entry to the Sydney Opera House competition.

Notable projects

Fombertaux house

The Fombertaux house was designed by Jean Fombertaux in 1966 and is located on the sandstone ledges of Sydney’s North Shore.^[3] Fombertaux designed the house as his own family home, and lived there with his wife and children from 1966 until his death in 1976. Fombertaux’s proposal was an open and transparent environment with openings in walls to create a visual connection between rooms inside. He also incorporated large floor to ceiling windows to tie the sunlight and surrounds into the house. The house is constructed of 16 slender steel columns laid out in a grid. The floors are a series of concrete slabs that spiral upwards, defining the differently programmed areas of the house. A light well runs down the centre of the house which contains a staircase connecting all three levels. The house was not completed to its original design at the time of construction, due to financial limitations. Less durable steel was used in construction, and eaves were left off, among other things. Due to local council regulations, no major modifications may be made to the house which has created difficulties for the family when they wanted to complete the project to its original design. The house transferred ownership out of the Fombertaux family in 2017, however , Jean's son, André Fombertaux, consults on repairs and enhancements to the residence as ongoing (unofficial) caretaker.

References

^ London, Geoffrey; Goad, Philip; Hamann, Conrad (2017). 150: An Unfinished Experiment in Living : Australian Houses 1950-65. Apollo Books. p. 408. ISBN 978-1-74258-669-4.
^ "Fombertaux House | MHNSW". Museums of History NSW. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
^ McGilick, Paul; Bingh, Patrick (February 2005). Sydney Architecture. Periplus. p. 123. ISBN 978-0-7946-0334-2.

[1] London, Geoffrey; Goad, Philip; Hamann, Conrad (2017). 150: An Unfinished Experiment in Living : Australian Houses 1950-65. Apollo Books. p. 408. ISBN 978-1-74258-669-4.

[2] "Fombertaux House | MHNSW". Museums of History NSW. Retrieved 24 December 2022.

[3] McGilick, Paul; Bingh, Patrick (February 2005). Sydney Architecture. Periplus. p. 123. ISBN 978-0-7946-0334-2.

[1]

[2]

[3]

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+{{Short description|French-Australian architect}}
-'''Jean Fombertaux''' (1935 – 1976, [[Sydney]], [[Australia]]) was a French émigré [[architect]] who spent most of his career designing buildings in and around Sydney. His style was exemplary of Sydney architecture during the 1960s and was the significant to the [[modernism]] movement.
+{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2014}}
+{{Use Australian English|date=May 2014}}
+'''Jean Fombertaux''' (1920–1976, [[Sydney]], Australia) was a French émigré [[architect]] who spent most of his career designing buildings in and around Sydney.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=London |first1=Geoffrey |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g0-7s5MWVskC |title=150: An Unfinished Experiment in Living : Australian Houses 1950-65 |last2=Goad |first2=Philip |last3=Hamann |first3=Conrad |date=2017 |publisher=Apollo Books |isbn=978-1-74258-669-4 |pages=408 |language=en}}</ref> His style was exemplary of Sydney architecture during the 1960s and was significant to the [[modernism|modernist]] movement.
 == Life ==
-Fombertaux was born in [[France]] and was brought up in  the remanent French colonies of [[South East Asia]]. The young adolescent Fombertaux arrived in Australia when he was sixteen years old, after fleeing the war. His father worked in the French Foreign Service and had to endure a strict upbringing. In later years, Fombertaux studied architecture at the [[Sydney Technical College]] with Russell Jack & Bruce Rickard. Like many of the Sydney based architects, Fombertaux chose to build his own house on the [[North Shore (Sydney)|North Shore]] where he built one of Australia’s iconic houses the ‘The Fombertaux house’.
+Fombertaux was born in [[Nice|Nice, France]] and was brought up in the French colonies of South East Asia. The adolescent Fombertaux arrived in Australia when he was sixteen years old, after fleeing the war. His father worked in the [[French Foreign Service]]{{Citation needed|date=August 2017}} and he had to endure a strict upbringing. In later years, Fombertaux studied architecture at the [[Sydney Technical College]] with Russell Jack and Bruce Rickard and graduated in 1947.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fombertaux House {{!}} MHNSW |url=https://mhnsw.au/stories/general/fombertaux-house |access-date=2022-12-24 |website=Museums of History NSW |language=en}}</ref> Like many of the Sydney-based architects, Fombertaux chose to build his own house on the [[North Shore (Sydney)|North Shore]] where he built one of Australia’s iconic houses, the Fombertaux House. In the year of the house's completion, Fombertaux was offered a position in the office of [[Le Corbusier]], but never returned to France to take the offer. His son, André Fombertaux, has spent most of his life has living in and working on Fombertaux House.
-In the same year of the houses completion, Fombertaux was offered a position in the office of [[Le Corbusier]], but never returned to France to take the offer.
-Jean Fombertaux had a son, Andre Fombertaux, who for most of his life has lived and worked on Fombertaux house.
 == Architecture ==
-Jean Fombertaux was raised in a pokey and dim federation era house his style of architecture was in revolt to these kind of environments and was heavily influenced by [[Frank lloyd Wright]] and [[Alvar Aalto]]. Fombertaux's style has been likened to that of [[Harry Seidler]], who he collaborated with their entry to the [[Sydney Opera House]] competition.
+Jean Fombertaux was raised in a pokey and dim Federation era house; his style of architecture was in revolt against such environments and was heavily influenced by [[Frank Lloyd Wright]] and [[Alvar Aalto]]. Fombertaux's style has been likened to that of [[Harry Seidler]], with whom he collaborated for an entry to the [[Sydney Opera House]] competition.
-=== Notable Projects ===
-'''Fombertaux House'''
-                                                                                                     [[File:FombertauxHouseImage.jpg|thumb|Fombertaux House]]
+=== Notable projects ===
-The Fombertaux house was designed by Jean Fombertaux in 1966 and is located on the [[sandstone]] ledges of Sydney’s North Shore. Fombertaux designed the house as his own family home, and lived there with his wife and children from 1966 until his death in 1976.
+;Fombertaux house
-Fombertaux’s proposal was an open and transparent environment with openings in walls to create a visual connection between rooms inside. He also incorporated large floor to ceiling windows to tie the sunlight and surrounds into the house.
+The Fombertaux house was designed by Jean Fombertaux in 1966 and is located on the [[sandstone]] ledges of Sydney’s North Shore.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=McGilick |first1=Paul |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dzU3AQAAIAAJ |title=Sydney Architecture |last2=Bingh |first2=Patrick |date=February 2005 |publisher=Periplus |isbn=978-0-7946-0334-2 |pages=123 |language=en}}</ref> Fombertaux designed the house as his own family home, and lived there with his wife and children from 1966 until his death in 1976. Fombertaux’s proposal was an open and transparent environment with openings in walls to create a visual connection between rooms inside. He also incorporated large floor to ceiling windows to tie the sunlight and surrounds into the house. The house is constructed of 16 slender steel columns laid out in a grid. The floors are a series of [[concrete]] slabs that spiral upwards, defining the differently programmed areas of the house. A [[light well]] runs down the centre of the house which contains a staircase connecting all three levels. The house was not completed to its original design at the time of construction, due to financial limitations. Less durable steel was used in construction, and eaves were left off, among other things. Due to local council regulations, no major modifications may be made to the house which has created difficulties for the family when they wanted to complete the project to its original design. The house transferred ownership out of the Fombertaux family in 2017, however , Jean's son, André Fombertaux, consults on repairs and enhancements to the residence as ongoing (unofficial) caretaker.
-The house is constructed of 16 slender steel columns laid out in a grid. The floors are a series of [[concrete]] slabs that spiral upwards, defining the differently programmed areas of the house. A [[light well]] runs down the centre of the house which contains a staircase that connects all three levels.
-The house was not completed to its original design at the time of construction, due to financial limitations. Less durable steel was used in construction, and eaves were left off, among other things. Due to local council regulations, no major modifications may be made to the house which has created difficulties for family wanting to complete the project to its original state.
-The house is still in the possession of the Fombertaux family. Jeans son, Andre Fombertaux, currently occupies and works on the house.
+== {{ACArt}}References ==
-{{uncat}}
+{{Reflist}}
+{{DEFAULTSORT:Fombertaux, Jean}}
+[[Category:1935 births]]
+[[Category:1976 deaths]]
+[[Category:Architects from Sydney]]
+[[Category:20th-century Australian architects]]
+[[Category:20th-century French architects]]