Moving away from the highly ornamental style of the eighteenth century, architects like Etienne-Louis Boullée and Claude-Nicolas Ledoux forged a rational system of architecture that emphasized form rather than decoration. Drawing heavily from elements within classical Greek and Roman architecture, these architects strived to achieve a modern, logical architecture.

The forms that their structures took, though, were radical in dimension and idealism. Boullée in particular thought creating buildable projects was secondary to architecture's potential to convey emotion and expression.

1. Étienne-Louis Boullée, Project for the Bibliotheque du Roi, in Mémoire sur les Moyens de Procurer á la Bibliothéque du Roi les Avantages que ce Monument Exige. Paris: L. Cellot, [1785].
2. Jean-Marie Pérouse de Montclos, Étienne-Louis Boulée, 1728-1799, de l'architecture classique à l'architecture révolutionnaire. Paris, Arts et métiers graphiques, 1969.