The historian of architecture and urbanism Jean-Louis Cohen died on August 7, 2023 at the age of 74. An architect himself, he was also an exhibition curator, professor and founder of the Cité de l’architecture et du patrimoine, following a prefiguration mission entrusted to him by the Ministry of Culture in 1997. he institution, of which he directed the Museum of French Monuments and the French Institute of Architecture until 2003, paid tribute to him on August 8, like other actors in the profession, while recalling his career.
With a doctorate in art history and accredited by the EHESS (Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales), Jean-Louis Cohen led the architectural research program of the Ministry of Equipment between 1979 and 1983. He then held a research chair at the Paris-Villemin School of Architecture (1983-1996) then the History of Cities chair at the French Institute of Urban Planning at the University of Paris-VIII (1996-2005). In 1994, he was additionally named “Sheldon H. Solow Professor in the History of Architecture” at the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University. He is also at the origin of many works on architecture and cities in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries.
“Living Library”
Many representatives of architecture reacted to the disappearance of Jean-Louis Cohen. In a post LinkedInthe National Council of the Order of Architects (Cnoa) presented him as a “great man of combat and commitment, especially for the safeguarding of the modern heritage of the 20th century”. The president of the Cnoa, Christine Leconte, also saluted his memory on Twitter.
On LinkedInthe City of Architecture and Heritage expressed its “sadness”. “A major figure in the architectural landscape, his contribution to the dissemination and research of architectural culture as well as to the safeguarding of modern heritage is invaluable”underlined the institution.
For its part, the Syndicat de l’architecture paid tribute to a “great defender” professionals of the architectural gesture, both in France and abroad. “His erudition and his taste for transmitting will never cease to inspire us”ensures the organization in a message LinkedIn.
The architect Philippe Chiambaretta, founder of the PCA-Stream agency, also expressed his emotion on the professional social network. “It was a professor who had transmitted to me the taste for architecture at Ponts et Chaussées in 1984, and since then a friend. A living library, Jean-Louis fascinated us all with his gourmet erudition. Our discipline is losing one of its greatest historians”he concludes.
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