Louis David Blanc was born in Edinburgh, Scotland on 16 February 1877 and was the nephew of the architect Hippolyte Jean Blanc (1844-1917) with whom he trained from 1893 to 1898 during which time he attended the School of Applied Art, in EdinburghEdinburgh School of Art and Heriot-Watt Technical College in Edinburgh. After completing his articles he moved to London where he worked as an assistant to Charles John Ferguson (1840-1904) from 1898 to 1900; to Crickmay & Sons from 1900 to 1902; in the War Office Architects Department in 1902-03; and in the London County Council Architects' Department from 1904 to 1920. During these years he studied at the Architectural Association Schools in London and at Regent Street Polytechnic.
Blanc commenced independent practice in 1920 as architect to Harrods Store and Associated Companies and subsequently specialised in the design of department stores. He also lectured on building construction at various schools of art. In 1938 he visited South Africa where he lectured. He was elected a Licentiate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (LRIBA) in 1911 and a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA) in 1938. He died on 8 May 1944. His death was registered in Croydon, Surrey.
Note: this architect may be confused with Louis Blanc (1860-1903), a Romanian architect.
Kendal Milne & Co. department store, 98-116, Deansgate, Manchester, with John S. Beaumont (1939-40).
Blanc, Louis. 'A British architect looks at South Africa'. Architect, Builder and Engineer June 1937 pp.12-14
Directory of British Architects 1834-1914. Compiled by Antonia Brodie, et al. Volume 1: A-K. London; New York: British Architectural Library, Royal Institute of British Architects/Continuum, 2001
Harwood, Elain. Art Deco Britain: Buildings of the Interwar Years. London: Batsford, 2019