Saint Martin's Customs House

The Customs House of St. Martin is one of the four preserved customs houses from the original number of about twenty, constructed by Ledoux on the outskirts of what was then Paris just before the Revolution. The massive forms testify to the purpose of the building: to enforce the payment of a tax on grain brought into Paris. They document Ledoux's belief that beauty in architecture should arise solely from pure geometric shapes.
Ledoux belonged to the type of theorizing architect, a not uncommon figure in the 18th century, similar to Laugier, who was a typical theorist of architecture in his time. He summarized all the rationalist intentions of the era, developed them to logical conclusions, and questioned all traditional values. His favored forms included the pyramid, cylinder, and cube, and at times he completely did without classical motifs.
Many of Ledoux’s designs were never realized and are accompanied as engravings by his theoretical treatise published at the end of his life in 1804. It also includes a project for an ideal city, which resembles civil, functionalist utopias of the 20th century more than symbolically conceived Renaissance divine cities. For the modern character of Ledoux's functionality, it is typical that he designs various forms of houses not only for individual social groups but also for specific professions, age groups, and interest circles. Here we encounter a house for writers, a boarding house for the senate, a refuge for policemen, a house for four families, etc. Moreover, his buildings are not abstract, even though they consist of geometric shapes interconnected without any decorations. On the contrary, the divisions intentionally express purpose, often conveying a rather pretentious symbolic form than a practical one.
An example of real architecture of this kind is offered by the customs houses, barrières, built between 1784-89 on the outskirts of Paris. Their purpose was to ensure the collection of the tax placed shortly before on grain imported into the capital. For instance, when examining the Customs House of St. Martin, one cannot escape the impression that Ledoux derived pleasure from this work. Although he was a revolutionary architect and indulged in reflections on public morality and rights imbued with Rousseau's flavor, he was an authoritarian in politics and a devoted servant of the old regime until the Revolution, later becoming an admirer of Napoleon. His customs houses were certainly larger than necessary, and their massive, angular, and violent shapes deliberately depressed the unfortunate peasants who had to pay fees here. It is therefore not surprising that some customs houses were destroyed by crowds during the revolution and that the architect narrowly escaped the guillotine.
Although in contrast to Jacques Louis David, Ledoux was a political conservative, interesting parallels exist between the two artists in temperament and artistic type. Both were to some extent philosophers, yet both equally mastered emotions and intellect. When David conceived The Oath of the Horatii as a revolutionary manifesto, he chose a theme clearly expressing the demand for the individual to subordinate to the interests of the state. Ledoux proclaims the same through his customs houses.