Although active as a painter and architect, Binet became known mainly for his architectural work in the French capital Paris. In recognition of his achievements, he was awarded the title of Knight of the Legion of Honour in 1901 and the Medal of Honour of the French Architectural Association in 1910. Binet had attracted attention with several buildings in Paris and had helped shape the appearance of Paris at the turn of the century before he died at the age of only 45.
His main work was linked to an event that fascinated Paris and the whole world in 1900: the World Exhibition. Planned as a review of a century of progress, the 1900 World Fair represented the conclusion and culmination of the 19th century's enthusiasm for science and technology. At the heart of the exhibition was a new form of energy that captured all the hopes of the time and promised to revolutionize life and production: electricity. Binet shared the fascination for the new energy and especially for the possibilities of electric light. The play of light from the Electricity Palace and the artificial waterfall at night attracted the masses. Binet was commissioned in December 1886 to design and build the central entrance gate to the World Exhibition in Place de la Concorde. The result was a monumental portal that welcomed visitors from all over the world. The more than 48 million visitors to the exhibition passed through this structure, known as the Binet Gate, into the new world of technology.
Binet was inspired by the architecture of Venice, Goethe's theory of colours and the biology of Ernst Haeckel. He also took up elements of Orientalism, popular at the time, and created minaret-like structures. The revolutionary aspect of the portal, however, was the integration of electric light into the architectural composition. Binet wanted to create an architecture of colour and light. His entrance gate to the World Exhibition retains its value as the first attempt to integrate the new possibilities of the medium of electric light into the building as a stylistic element. In addition, his second contribution to the exhibition, the agricultural pavilion, faded away. His contribution to the design of Paris at the turn of the century lay in the attempt to combine art and modern technology in a new architectural language. His subjects were functional buildings such as the Pont Notre Dames bridge or the Madeleine and Maison Dorée post offices and the telephone exchange in Rue Gutenberg. However, the new era was not only evident in the architectural translation of the new medium of the telephone, but also in his latest major project. At the turn of the century, the department store stood for the central vision of progress. The temples of consumption celebrated luxury in the world's metropolises. Binet was in charge of the conversion and redesign of the Printemps department store in downtown Paris until his death, thus giving the unconditional belief in technology and progress of the time a further expression in the cityscape before World War I revealed the dark sides of technology.
Although active as a painter and architect, Binet became known mainly for his architectural work in the French capital Paris. In recognition of his achievements, he was awarded the title of Knight of the Legion of Honour in 1901 and the Medal of Honour of the French Architectural Association in 1910. Binet had attracted attention with several buildings in Paris and had helped shape the appearance of Paris at the turn of the century before he died at the age of only 45.
His main work was linked to an event that fascinated Paris and the whole world in 1900: the World Exhibition. Planned as a review of a century of progress, the 1900 World Fair represented the conclusion and culmination of the 19th century's enthusiasm for science and technology. At the heart of the exhibition was a new form of energy that captured all the hopes of the time and promised to revolutionize life and production: electricity. Binet shared the fascination for the new energy and especially for the possibilities of electric light. The play of light from the Electricity Palace and the artificial waterfall at night attracted the masses. Binet was commissioned in December 1886 to design and build the central entrance gate to the World Exhibition in Place de la Concorde. The result was a monumental portal that welcomed visitors from all over the world. The more than 48 million visitors to the exhibition passed through this structure, known as the Binet Gate, into the new world of technology.
Binet was inspired by the architecture of Venice, Goethe's theory of colours and the biology of Ernst Haeckel. He also took up elements of Orientalism, popular at the time, and created minaret-like structures. The revolutionary aspect of the portal, however, was the integration of electric light into the architectural composition. Binet wanted to create an architecture of colour and light. His entrance gate to the World Exhibition retains its value as the first attempt to integrate the new possibilities of the medium of electric light into the building as a stylistic element. In addition, his second contribution to the exhibition, the agricultural pavilion, faded away. His contribution to the design of Paris at the turn of the century lay in the attempt to combine art and modern technology in a new architectural language. His subjects were functional buildings such as the Pont Notre Dames bridge or the Madeleine and Maison Dorée post offices and the telephone exchange in Rue Gutenberg. However, the new era was not only evident in the architectural translation of the new medium of the telephone, but also in his latest major project. At the turn of the century, the department store stood for the central vision of progress. The temples of consumption celebrated luxury in the world's metropolises. Binet was in charge of the conversion and redesign of the Printemps department store in downtown Paris until his death, thus giving the unconditional belief in technology and progress of the time a further expression in the cityscape before World War I revealed the dark sides of technology.
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