Jacques Guillouet, "The Douai house from Louis XIV to Louis XVIII". Since Parent's study, quoted in reference, about 70 years have passed during which the architectural heritage of Douai has suffered from many destructions caused mostly by the two world wars. The author of this study tries to reckon what is left of the private houses of Douai and to underline what characterizes those which were built after the union of the town to France. From the year 1690, the general outlook of the Douai house evolves toward more simplicity with the disappearance of the Baroque adornments and the adoption of a sterner type of architecture with its harmonious blend of sandstone, limestone and brick. A regulation, issued in 1718 by the "Magistrate", imposes standards of height for the storeys and the cornices which still impart to the rows of houses a straightness of lines which has yet nothing to do with a strict architectural unity. The Louis XV adornments will only enrich a few private mansions and the neo-classical style will alter with but a few details the aspect of the house. One may say that the architectural type which has remodelled Douai between 1690 and 1820 is still the type which gives its particular character to the city.