Charles Ribart

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

Charles-François Ribart was an 18th century French architect.

Architectural career

In 1758, he 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.^[1][2] Napoleon would later conceive a similar construction, the Elephant of the Bastille.

Little of his work now survives.

Notes

1. ^ Digest, Reader's (1981). Strange Stories, Amazing Facts. Sydney: Readers Digest. p. 492. ISBN 0895770288. 
2. ^ 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 0312374534. http://books.google.com/books?id=4AJDn2p3aAcC&pg=PA136&lpg=PA136&dq=Charles-Fran%C3%A7ois+Ribart. 

See also

• Lucy the Elephant
• Elephant of the Bastille, a Napoleon-era proposal to build an elephant-shaped fountain in Place de la Bastille.

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