We build a lot in Paris
But above all, alas! industrial and commercial premises

Construction, so disdained since the war, seems to be regaining the favor which has long made the operation considered the investment par excellence for fathers of families. On all sides, both in Paris and in the surrounding areas of the capital, masons have resumed their trowels, construction sites display the comforting spectacle of their activity.

These are new little houses or more comfortable pavilions which populate the free spaces of the suburbs and come to swell the avant-garde of the greater Paris of tomorrow; there, buildings that are raised by one or two floors, depending on the solidity of the walls; further on, tall buildings which achieve all the improvements of modern comfort. Everyone applauds this lifting of the trowels which alone can put an end to the housing crisis.

To appreciate the importance of this movement, it is appropriate to consider its extent as specified, only for Paris, by the following figures:

In 1913, 1,849 residential premises were built in Paris, comprising 6,859 floors. The war brought this construction boom to a complete halt. In 1915, only 56 new constructions were recorded, increasing the premises available to Parisians by 199 floors. The construction movement, as far as residential premises are concerned, is slowing down from year to year:

105 new floors in 1916; 89 in 1917; 50 in 1918. The armistice marked a slight awakening in the taste for rubble. The number of new floors which offered the hope of accommodation to so many would-be tenants suddenly increased to 413 in 1919; 561 in 1920; 673 in 1921. If we compare these figures with those of recorded constructions, we realize that this increase is largely due to elevations.

Capital is still hesitant to commit to construction. It was only in 1922 that, thanks to a more liberal regime for new buildings, taking into account the worsening prices imposed on construction, we finally saw the completion of large buildings whose work had been suspended by the war and new buildings of six and seven floors were being built, each providing an appreciable contingent of new apartments. This is how for 547 new constructions, Paris records an additional 1,589 floors available for housing. This number increased to 2,855 in 1923 for 727 constructions. It looks set to be largely exceeded this year.

For the first two months of the year alone, 141 new constructions with a total of 656 floors have already been recorded, which shows that masons work mainly on the construction of tall and large buildings. If this activity continues and there are reasons To think that it will increase, the end of the year will see Paris equipped with at least 4,000 new floors for residential use, which represents around three-quarters of the floors created during the best pre-war years.

The housing crisis would be largely resolved if all the construction effort was focused on residential premises: This is not, however, the case.

It is the creation of industrial and commercial premises which monopolizes the construction industry to proportions unknown before the war. Paris tends more and more to transform itself into a city of buildings, into a bustling business center, monopolized by commerce and industry.

The exodus towards the outskirts, the developed fortification zone or towards the suburbs will be an inevitable thing for the Parisians of the future and should be encouraged.

A few figures will suffice to clarify the transformation that Paris is undergoing from this point of view, and that the change in the appearance of the boulevards, then of the avenue de la Grande-Armée, and finally of the avenue des Champs-Elysées itself even, was, moreover, foreboding. The number of new constructions for industrial and commercial premises rose, in 1913, to 107, comprising 128 floors. The movement of this type of construction continued in 1914, where 109 constructions and 165 floors were noted; it declined considerably in 1915, but, from 1916, we recorded its revival which, after having asserted itself in 1917 and 1918, showed, from 1919, a formidable progression.

The number of new industrial and commercial floors, which was only 128 in 1913, reached 702 that year; rose to 920 in 1920 (compared to 561 floors for residential use), stood at 541 in 1921; to 716 in 1922, and to 828 in 1923. The current year will break all records.

For the first two months, 96 buildings have already been built with 184 floors of industrial and commercial premises, which, if this movement continues, will mean, at the end of the year, 576 new buildings and a total of 1,104 floors, but that will not get us, alas! not one more accommodation.

A. VÉRAN.