Lucien Seignol

Lucien Seignol and his longtime partner Alfred Ferraz were architects from Saint-Etienne, who used a composite system of prefabricated reinforced concrete elements and traditional techniques. Several of their well-known projects included the library of the University of Saint-Etienne, the Cultural Centre L’Esplanade, the city hall of Unieux and the redesign of the city hall of Saint-Bonnet-le-Chateau. A remarkable building was the watch factory in Besançon SIDHOR, built in 1948. Its shape is that of a St. Andrew’s Cross, with space and light distributed through large windows.

Seignol was a student at the Regional School of Architecture Lyon under Tony Garnier. In 1926, he was admitted to the École des Beaux Arts but did not graduate before 1938 with the plan of an officer’s mess of an aero-naval base. However, he had worked as an architect in Lyon since 1929. In 1949, he moved to Saint-Etienne, where he had a co-operation with Ferraz. He was a member of the Société des architectes diplômés du gouvernement (S.A.D.G.) since 1955.

In 1941, the City Council of La Talaudière, a small town near Saint-Etienne, decided to build a stadium. The construction works started in 1942. Since 1944, the football field and two basketball courts were available. After World War II, the complex was completed with the participation of German prisoners of war.