Chaux, France and Claude Nicholas Ledoux

In the middle of Chaux, France was an ideal amount of salt for salinization which was very profitable in the 1700's. We get our word for salary, in fact, from the word, salt. Therefore, if you are "worth your salt" you will be paid handsomely.

The Architect that built The Royal Saltworks in 1775, also known as Le Saline Royale at Arc-et-Senans was Claude Nicholas Ledoux. It predated the city he planned to build there known as Chaux. Ledoux had many conservative and moralistic theories which played a part in the plans for his ideal city, Chaux. Thus, he was in fact trying to create the perfect world to meet every man's every need.

This is in fact what an architect strives to do. It is the job of the architect to create a perfect home for each inhabitant according to their needs and desires. A Utopia. The idealized city was designed in the form of a circle and the homes were designed with the workers who would live within them, in mind. For example, the roof of a logger would be designed to look like the house of a logger as well as meet the work requirements of a logger.

Thinking of all things and being a practical man, Ledoux even considered a house for the purpose of pleasure, known as the Oikema House of Pleasure. The shape of the building, in fact was phallic.

In the same way all the buildings built for the workers in the town were perfectly suited and shaped, if indeed there should be a concern or a need at hand.

In the center of Chaux remained Le Saline Royale where the wealth, management, aristocracy and those with real freedom resided. What was unfortunate about this early experiment with Utopia was that it did not give anyone of low status any opportunity for mobility within society. Your home was as good as your prison. In fact, you were reminded of where you fit into society every day of your life and that would never change no matter how hard you worked. So much for Utopia, I call this a dystopia. One more thing to consider is that Ledoux's design for Chaux with the exception of the Salt works was mostly theoretical. The major details were on paper. Maybe it was easier to visualize such an idealized world than to bring it to fruition.

The images we have are of the plans for the circular village and of Le Saline Royale (left) which was actually built for salinization. It was a truly elegant building, drawing the eye to the detailed columns.