Charles Ribart

French architect

Ribart's cross-sectional plan for L'elephant triomphal, grand kiosque a la gloire du roi

Charles François Ribart de Chamoust (fl. 1776–1783 [1]) was an 18th-century French architect.

## Architectural career[edit]

In 1758, Ribart planned an addition to the Champs-Élysées in Paris, to be constructed where the Arc de Triomphe now stands. It consisted of three levels, to be built in the shape of an elephant, with entry via a spiral staircase in the underbelly. The building was to have a form of air conditioning, and furniture that folded into the walls. A drainage system was to be incorporated into the elephant's trunk. The French Government, however, was not amused and turned him down.[2][3] Napoleon would later conceive a similar construction, the Elephant of the Bastille.

Little of his work now survives.

## Notes[edit]

1. ^ Oxford Index. Ribart de Chamoust
2. ^ Reader's Digest (1981). Strange Stories, Amazing Facts. Sydney: Reader's Digest. p. 492\. ISBN 0-89577-028-8.
3. ^ Marquis, Caitlin; Sara O'Rourke; Andrea Halpern; Aliza Aufrichtig (2007). "Champs-Élysées: Arc de Triomphe". Let's Go 2008 France. Let's Go Publications. p. 136\. ISBN 978-0-312-37453-2.

## See also[edit]

* James V. Lafferty, American architect who built 3 similar elephant-shaped buildings
* Elephant of the Bastille, a Napoleon-era proposal to build an elephant-shaped fountain in Place de la Bastille.

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* France
* BnF data
* United States

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