Son of the architect Jean-Baptiste Cordonnier (1820–1902), Cordonnier studied at the
Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He returned to Lille for his first major commission, the 1881 town hall of
Loos. His chosen style was a strongly regional
Flemish Renaissance Revival in brick, with a characteristic
belfry tower. Further civic commissions in the area culminated in Cordonnier's best known work, the
Peace Palace in
The Hague, seat of the
International Court of Justice. There his neo-Flemish entry won a
design competition against far more modern competitors like
Hendrik Berlage and
Otto Wagner. The jury's choice proved controversial enough to fuel lawsuits for seven years. Cordonnier alternated his regional Flemish style with occasional essays in the neo-classical
Beaux-Arts style so prevalent in Paris during these years. In Lille the architect's Flemish Chamber of Commerce building of 1910–21 stands twenty paces away from his Beaux-Arts
Opéra de Lille of 1903–14, its design said to be inspired by
Garnier's Paris Opera. In the wake of the widespread destruction of
World War I in this part of France, Cordonnier took the lead in efforts to rebuild civic buildings and local churches in strictly traditional style, although not averse to using structural concrete. Towards the end of his career he was joined in practice by his son, Louis-Stanislas Cordonnier (1884–1960). == Work ==