The topics of this blog are Armand-Jean du Plessis, Cardinal Duke of Richelieu, and the IDEAL CITY built on his command next to his magnificent CHÂTEAU on the borders of Touraine, Anjou and Poitou, in France.

Thursday 11 April 2013

Laying the new floor for la Halle

As spring 2013 finally arrives and the temperatures rise sufficiently to allow concrete laying, the new floor of the Halle has now been laid.  Originally(1640) this floor would have been of simple beaten earth, and with all those animals must have been quite 'picturesque'.  The 2013 solution is a modern version of beaten earth that is a bit stronger and more hygienic. 

A big expansion joint bisects the plan at half-way - is this enough? There were insufficient expansion joints placed in the layout of the place du Marché paving and it is already showing cracks.

The level of the floor has been dropped to a lower and more 'authentic' level - rather as in Ur of the Caldees or Babylon, floor levels always rise so that heavy material does not have to be removed...









2 comments:

Susan said...

I look forward to seeing the real thing sometime this year.

Abbé Henri Proust said...

They still have to install the restored perimeter railings and the new glass enclosures to make the market building comply with modern food-handling regulations. We all hope that the hoped-for modesty of these newly required elements will not spoil the super simple 17th century manner of the old 'building'.
But the project is a still marvel for this little and lost 'zombie' town, and a credit to Mayor Novelli.

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