PORTRAITS D’ARCHITECTES : Nicolas Nicole (1702-1784)

The son of a Bisontin artisan, Nicolas Nicole began his training as a locksmith and was awarded the title of master in 1737. Following a stay in Nancy, where his second brother, Claude-François Nicole, an architectural draughtsman and engraver for the King and the Lorraine Audit Office, was based, Nicolas Nicole trained as an architect. Within a few years, he had established himself as one of the best architects in the Comtois region, building the Chapel of Refuge in 1739, the Church of Sainte-Madeleine from 1746 to 1766, and supervising the construction of the new Intendance building between 1770 and 1778, based on plans by Victor Louis.