New techniques, ancient forms. Deneux’s patents for reinforced concrete frameworks

Between 1919 and 1921 Henri Deneux (1874–1979), an architect of historic monuments, registered two different versions of a patent for “assembled and demountable reinforced concrete elements”. It was based on the study of traditional roof frames and particularly on Philibert Delorme’s technique of constructing timber vaults and arches with laminated small elements. Trained under Anatole de Baudot’s teaching, Deneux became architect of the historic monuments in 1905 and after the First World War actively tested the use of reinforced concrete in restoration works, namely in the re-establishment of the roof frames of the Cathedral and the Churches of Saint-Jacques and Saint-Remi in Reims. As many other reinforced concrete patents, his system was destined to disappear from the field of new constructions, overtaken by Hennebique’s calculation practical methods. Nevertheless, the challenging reconstruction of monuments’ timberworks in Reims proved the possibility to provide tailored solutions for monumental buildings and reach innovative syntheses using ancient forms and new materials.