Louis Bonnier

Louis Bernard Bonnier
Portrait of Bonnier in 1925 by Laure Albin Guillot
Born	(1856-06-14)14 June 1856 Templeuve, Nord, France
Died	16 September 1946(1946-09-16) (aged 90) Paris, France
Nationality	French
Occupation	Architect
Known for	Paris urban planning

Louis Bernard Bonnier (14 June 1856 – 16 September 1946) was a French architect known for his work as an urban planner for the city of Paris. He was instrumental in loosening the restrictions on the appearance of buildings in Paris, which resulted in the blossoming of Art Nouveau buildings. He designed many significant buildings himself, including private villas, public housing and railway buildings. In all his work he was true to the rationalist principles of Art Nouveau.

Louis Bernard Bonnier was born on 14 June 1856 in Templeuve, Nord. The Bonnier family were originally laborers. Louis Bonnier was the son of a notary's clerk who later became manager of a sugar factory and then a wine salesman. Louis's father was a committed Republican. Louis was the oldest of four boys. His brothers were Charles (1803–1926), Pierre (1861–1918) and Jules (1859–1908). Jules Bonnier became a well-known biologist.

Bonnier studied painting and architecture at the École académique de Lille. He was admitted to the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1877, where he was a pupil of André Moyaux and Louis-Jules André. Bonnier married Isabelle Deconchy on 25 April 1881. She was the sister of his friend Ferdinand Deconchy, a painter, and daughter of a well-known architect. They had three sons. Jean (1882–1966) was a painter and decorator, Jacques (1884–1964) was an architect and Marc (1887–1916) was an aviator. Louis Bonnier graduated from the École des Beaux-Arts in 1886.

Examples of Bonnier's early work were four houses he built in Ambleteuse, Nord (1892), the town hall in Templeuve (1893) and the Flé house in Ambleteuse (1894). These illustrated his taste for rationality, economy and subordination of decoration to structure. With his work on the town hall at Issy-les-Moulineaux he showed his ability to discard period styles of architecture and to make use of new materials. This made his work attractive to the nouveau-riche. He was named Architect of the City of Paris in 1884.

Bonnier shared an interest in Japanese prints and stencil patterns with Siegfried Bing, and in 1895 was the main architect and designer for the renovation of Bing's shop at 22 rue de Provence in Paris, the Maison de l'Art Nouveau. Bing had first asked Victor Horta for plans, but had rejected them as too expensive. Bonnier designed the grillwork for the entraqnce to the Japanese section of the shop on Rue Chauchat, and oversaw placement of the glass cupola over the corner turret. He oversaw the decorations and architectural changes to the shop, working with artisans such as Frank Brangwyn, an English Arts and Crafts designer. The shop opened in December 1895.