Poste de Tréguier
MonumentHidden Treasure
Poste de Tréguier, located in Tréguier (Département 22), is a modern edifice built in the 19th-20th centuries. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Period
- Modern (19th-20th century)
- Location
- Tréguier, Département 22, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.7873, -3.2284
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00135259
A little-known gem of Breton civil architecture, the Tréguier post office (1935) is astonishing for its interior mosaics by Odorico, combining regionalism and Art Deco elegance in a building listed as a Historic Monument.
History
In the heart of Tréguier, Episcopal city and birthplace of Ernest Renan, lies a civil building of rare artistic coherence: the post office built in 1935 by architect Pierre-Jack Laloy. Far from the functional banality that is often attributed to administrative buildings of the inter-war period, this post office building displays a carefully composed architectural language, in which Breton regionalism dialogues with the ornamental inflections of Art Deco. What immediately sets the Tréguier post office apart from its contemporaries is the extraordinary integrity of its interior décor. The hall and ticket office still have their mosaic coverings, created by Isidore Odorico, a mosaic artist from Rennes whose reputation spread throughout Brittany in the 1920s and 1940s. These colourful compositions, with their geometric and floral motifs characteristic of the decorative taste of the period, transform a utilitarian space into a veritable heritage showcase. The experience of visiting the building is unique: you enter a post office that is still in use, only to discover, at the turn of a counter, mosaic surfaces of striking precision and freshness. The light filtering through the openings makes the tesserae vibrate and reveals the colour palette chosen by Odorico - ochres, muted blues, deep greens - in perfect harmony with the architectural identity of Brittany. The urban setting adds to the interest of the visit: Tréguier, with its Saint-Tugdual cathedral and medieval half-timbered houses, offers an exceptional historical backdrop. The post office, although a twentieth-century building, fits naturally into this heritage fabric, testifying to the desire of the architects of the inter-war period to produce architecture rooted in the area.
Architecture
The building adopts the Breton regionalism architectural vocabulary in vogue in the 1930s, tinged with Art Deco inflections that give it a tempered elegance. Pierre-Jack Laloy created a sober, well-balanced facade whose lines harmonised with the surrounding buildings in Tréguier, without being ostentatious. The building materials - most likely local stone and plaster - contribute to the building's regional roots, while the carefully designed openings punctuate the facade with a discretion that is characteristic of regionalist civil architecture. The interior reveals the true artistic ambition of the project. The entrance hall and ticket office are entirely covered in mosaics created by the Odorico studio in Rennes. These compositions of ceramic tesserae and coloured glass feature geometric, floral and ornamental motifs typical of the Art Deco repertoire, with the chromatic and technical mastery that is the artist's signature. The floors, walls and picture rails are part of an overall decorative programme, transforming a functional space into a remarkably coherent interior. The technical nature of the Odorico mosaics deserves particular attention: hand-cut and laid using techniques inherited from the Venetian tradition, the tesserae create effects of depth and luminosity that vary according to the angle of observation and the intensity of the natural light. The exceptional state of conservation of these surfaces, after almost nine decades, bears witness to both the original quality of execution and the care taken in maintaining them.
Related Figures
Pierre-Jack Laloy — architecte concepteur de l'édifice (1935), auteur du parti régionaliste à inflexion Art DécoIsidore Odorico — mosaïste rennais d'origine vénitienne (1893-1945), auteur des décors mosaïqués du hall et du bureauErnest Renan — enfant célèbre de Tréguier (1823-1892), philosophe et historien des religions, dont la ville porte l'empreinte intellectuelle
Tags
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Poste de Tréguier located?
Poste de Tréguier is located in Tréguier, Département 22 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Poste de Tréguier built?
Poste de Tréguier dates back to a period built in the modern era (19th-20th century).
Is Poste de Tréguier open to visitors?
Poste de Tréguier is currently closed to visitors.