Which French architect designed the Castel Béranger apartment building?

The French architect who designed the Castel Béranger apartment building was Hector Guimard.

Built in Paris between 1895 and 1898, Castel Béranger was Guimard’s breakthrough work and one of the city’s earliest major Art Nouveau buildings. He designed not only the structure but also many interior details, including ironwork, stained glass, fixtures, and decorative elements.

Its irregular façade, varied materials, flowing lines, and fanciful ornament marked a sharp break from conventional Parisian apartment design. Guimard drew on the rationalist ideas of Eugène Viollet-le-Duc and the work of Belgian architect Victor Horta, but developed a distinctive Parisian version of Art Nouveau.

A common mix-up is to credit Horta because Horta’s Hôtel Tassel strongly influenced Guimard. Castel Béranger nevertheless remains Guimard’s own building. It won Paris’s first façade competition in 1898 and helped establish his reputation. The building was designated a historic monument in 1992.