Nouveau Traité de toute l’architecture

work by Cordemoy

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July 1, 2026

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The Nouveau Traité de toute l’architecture (1714) by the Abbé de Cordemoy is a foundational text in French architectural theory. This work laid a cornerstone for rationalism in architecture, influencing the shift away from the Rococo style towards a more dogmatic classicism. Cordemoy's treatise contributed to the development of architectural thought during the Enlightenment, emphasizing principles that would shape subsequent architectural movements.12

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Western architecture
France
In the Nouveau Traité de toute l’architecture (1714; “New Treatise on All Architecture”) Cordemoy proposed that a new, honest, and economical architecture might be arrived at by abstracting the principles of Gothic construction and applying them in a perfectly regular Classical way. There was no question of…
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In the Nouveau Traité de toute l’architecture (1714; “New Treatise on All Architecture”) Cordemoy proposed that a new, honest, and economical architecture might be arrived at by abstracting the principles of Gothic construction and applying them in a perfectly regular Classical way. There was no question of…
Read More