Émile-Jacques Gilbert was a French architect.

In 1838 Gilbert was commissioned to reconstruct the hospital for the insane at Charenton

Charenton (asylum)

Charenton was a lunatic asylum, founded in 1645 by the Frères de la Charité in Charenton-Saint-Maurice, now Saint-Maurice, Val-de-Marne, France....

 along modern more humane lines recommended by Jean-Étienne Dominique Esquirol

Jean-Étienne Dominique Esquirol

Jean-Étienne Dominique Esquirol was a French psychiatrist.Born and raised in Toulouse, Esquirol completed his education at Montpellier...

; the new structure was completed in 1845. In 1843 Gilbert, as Architect of the City of Paris

Architect of the City of Paris

The Architect of the City of Paris is a municipal position, responsible for the design and construction of civic projects in Paris, France....

, was commissioned to erect the first of the model penitentiaries following designs of Guillaume-Abel Blouet

Guillaume-Abel Blouet

Guillaume-Abel Blouet was a French architect who specialised in prison design.-Biography:Blouet was born at Passy. He won the Grand Prix de Rome in 1821 at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, entitling him to five years' study at the French Academy in Rome...

, the Mazas, in Paris. In 1858 he was commissioned to build the new Hôtel Dieu

Hôtel-Dieu de Paris

The Hôtel-Dieu de Paris is regarded as the oldest hospital in the city of Paris, France, and is the most central of the Assistance publique - hôpitaux de Paris hospitals. The hospital is linked to the Faculté de Médecine Paris-Descartes...

 opposite Notre Dame on the Île de la Cité

Île de la Cité

The Île de la Cité is one of two remaining natural islands in the Seine within the city of Paris . It is the centre of Paris and the location where the medieval city was refounded....

, Paris.