Antoine-Nicolas Bailly

Born in Paris as the son of a postal official and the eldest of eleven children,[1] Bailly entered the atelier of architect François Debret and through him the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in 1830, also studying under Félix Duban.

[2] In 1850, with the support of Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, Bailly became the architect of the dioceses of Bourges, Valencia and Digne.

In 1860, Baron Georges-Eugène Haussmann commissioned Bailly with the administrative building for the 4th arrondissement of Paris, which served as a model for others.

Its business courts are organized around a glass atrium reaching the entire height of the building.

Architect Ernest Sanson began his career as a draftsman in Bailly's firm, and took over the office in 1865.