Lavoirs: Washhouses of Rural France. Questo articolo non è disponibile.Lavoirs: Washhouses of Rural France

Lavoirs are sheltered structures with stone basins that use fresh spring water for washing clothes. They dot the landscape in rural France, where until 40 years ago running water was not always a feature in the daily life of the home. It is to these structures - now abandoned and often torn down - where women gathered to wash their laundry and exchange local news. The lavoirs were beautifully designed and executed; but today they are viewed as wasted land value and thus are being razed to make room for other projects. Mireille Roddier, an architect and teacher, has traveled the back roads of rural France hunting down these examples of functional beauty that can date back as far as medieval times. She presents here a history of the lavoir, its role as a place for uncensored gossip, and its legends accompanied by sixty beautiful doutone photographs. There is a website - unrelated to our book - dedicated to lavoirs: http://www.bdrak.com/fount/fintro.htm. There are people out there interested in these structures.

Book by Roddier Mireille