François Coppens (1799 – 1873) was a Belgian architect.

François Coppens
Born
Jean-François Coppens

1799
Died1873(1873-00-00) (aged 73–74)
Nationality Belgium
OccupationArchitect
Notable workBrussels-North railway station
RelativesEugène Coppens (son)[1]
AwardsOrder of Leopold

Biography

edit

Jean-François Coppens was born in Brussels, Département de la Dyle, Southern Netherlands, French Republic (now Belgium) in 1799.[2]

On October 30, 1835, Coppens' company Société des Charbonnages et hauts-fourneaux d'Ougrée (English: Coal and blast furnace company of Ougree) was approved by royal decree of King Leopold I. By 1839, François Coppens was director of the Belgian company, residing in Brussels, carrying 1670 shares.[3] In Brussels, the architect resided on Boulevard du Jardin botanique.[4]

 
Brussels-North railway station, c. 1910

On September 27, 1841, he was named honorary architect of the railway for the part he took in the formation of the project for the North station in Brussels. On November 8, 1841, François Coppens, was appointed knight of the Order of Leopold.[5]

The project of the Solvay Castle in Walloon Brabant, involving Coppens and French architect Jean-Jacques Nicolas Arveuf-Fransquin, was finished in 1842. In 1847, he built a new Castle of Petegem that was commissioned by Baron Auguste Pycke de Peteghem.[citation needed]

In 1851, he was involved in the Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition in London. He served as a jury member tasked with judging the class of "Decorative furniture and upholstery, including paper-hangings, papier-mâché, and japanned goods.[6]

He was involved in a limited partnership Coppens alné et compagnie which dissolved in 1860, and was replaced by a public company established by Coppens, Charles de Brouckère and Emmanuel Jacques Pyn to operate steam navigation between Ghent and Antwerp. The new company was constituted with a capital of 680,000 francs.[4]

During the 1870s, he was the director of the Quenast Porphyry Quarries Company, which operated the Quenast quarry, with his son Eugène taking over after his death.[1]

Death

edit

François Coppens died in 1873 in Paris, France.[2]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b Recueil spécial des actes, extraits d'actes, procès-verbaux et documents relatifs aux sociétés commerciales. (1873). Belgium: Imprimerie du Moniteur belge.
  2. ^ a b Poelaert, J. (1980). Poeleart et son temps. Belgium: Crédit communal de Belgique.
  3. ^ Recueil des lois, décrets, et arrêtés. (1839). Belgium: Impr. du Moniteur belge.
  4. ^ a b Premiers Actes du Nouveau Gouvernement de la Belgique. (1837). Belgium: Weissenbruch.
  5. ^ Pasinomie, ou: collection complète des lois, décrets, arrêtés et règlements généraux qui peuvent être invoqués en Belgique. (1841). Belgium: Librairie de jurisprudence de H. Tarlier.
  6. ^ Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, 1851;: Reports by the Juries on the Subjects in the Thirty Classes Into which the Exhibition was Divided. (1852). United Kingdom: Royal Commission.