 In his exteriors he held to a monumental Late Baroque classicism with some innovations in spatial planning that were exceptional in France His major commissions, culminating in his interiors at the Hôtel de Soubise, were memorialised in his treatise "Livre d'architecture", published in 1745, which served to disseminate the French "Louis XV" style throughout Europe.Born at Nantes, the son of a provincial architect, Boffrand went to Paris in 1681 to study sculpture in the atelier of François Girardon, before entering the large official practice of Jules Hardouin-Mansart.His uncle, Philippe Quinault, introduced him to prospective clients among the aristocracy of Paris and at Court.