The architect

Louis Poisson was born on February 19, 1889, in Cordoba, Argentina. He was the son of Joseph Poisson, an architect, and Léontine Bezin.

After returning to France in 1906, he attended the National School of Decorative Arts in Nice from 1907 to 1910, in the architecture department. He obtained his architect diploma.

At that time, the profession of architect could be practiced without state authorization; only approval from the profession's Trade Association was sufficient.
Upon leaving school, he worked in his father's firm established in Nice. He held the position of head of architectural services. Called up for military service, he enrolled in the drawing section and in 1911 received a medal and a prize of 50 francs for a decorative sign project installed on Avenue de la Gare indicating the access path to the Nice museum.

Mobilized in 1914 and following his father's death in 1916, the firm ceased all activities. In 1919, he was assigned to the Service of Liberated Regions under the Ministry of Liberated Regions in the Oise department. In April 1919, he became a technical agent as a draftsman-architect for the ministry.
He resigned in October 1919. He partnered with Paul Le Louet and settled in Amiens. In 1921, the Oise prefecture added him to the list of authorized architects approved to provide services to reconstruction cooperative societies. In 1927, he left Amiens for Darney (Vosges) to be closer to his in-laws.

He opened a firm with his brother Paul as his associate. They worked together for several years. His brother, who married their secretary, decided to open his own agency in Épinal. Louis Poisson then worked alone with his wife as secretary. He undertook numerous projects, each more diverse than the last: churches, schools, municipal and industrial buildings, public establishments, hotels, commercial buildings, and private residences.

He also participated in improving rural housing in western Vosges through the Union of Vosges Agricultural Unions (S.A.V.), thanks to the dynamism of its president, André Barbier, who was also a general councilor and mayor of Darney. Finally, he was called upon to serve as an expert for insurance companies.

Mobilized in 1940 and released in 1941 as a veteran of the First World War, he requested to be registered on the list of architects approved by the Technical Commission for Building Reconstruction.

The Order of Architects having been created that same year, he took the oath on Thursday, July 2, 1942, at the prefecture of Meurthe-et-Moselle. He paid the architect's license in the Vosges from 1947. He opened a second office in Mirecourt with two or three draftsmen, including a project manager and a quantity surveyor. His work and role as an expert led him to travel frequently between construction sites.

After suffering a cerebral congestion in 1956, which partially paralyzed him, through sheer willpower, he gradually resumed his work with the help of his wife. He transferred his architectural office to Mr. Piaget, an architect and colleague from Remiremont. He resigned from the Council of the Order of Architects on August 17, 1969.

Louis Poisson died on October 1, 1969.

The Mirecourt office ceased all activities after Mr. Piaget's death. The liquidation resulted in a massive destruction of archives and plans. Part of the archives from the Darney office was deposited under a deposit contract at the Departmental Archives of the Vosges by François Poisson, his son, in 1992 and 2006. It represents 2.80 linear meters and 1,350 plans.

(Source: Arch. dep. of the Vosges, FR AD 88/75 J. www.vosges-archives.com)