Ancien établissement thermal
Monument
Ancien établissement thermal, located in Evian-les-Bains (Département 74), is a modern edifice built in the 19th-20th centuries. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Period
- Modern (19th-20th century)
- Location
- Evian-les-Bains, Département 74, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 46.4013, 6.5916
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00118395
A Belle Époque jewel on the shores of Lake Geneva, this former Évian spa (1900-1902) combines Hennebique concrete, Bigot flamed sandstone and Art Nouveau stained glass in a spa setting that has now been frozen in time.
History
On the elegant shores of Lake Geneva, in Évian-les-Bains, the former spa is one of the most eloquent witnesses to the spa fever that gripped European high society at the dawn of the 20th century. Built between 1900 and 1902 by the architect Ernest Brunnarius, this ambitious building was designed to accommodate a wealthy clientele who came to treat their ailments by drinking and bathing in Evian's famous mineral waters. It was the successor to a first establishment dating back to 1827, which had become too small to accommodate the growing influx of spa-goers. What radically sets this building apart from its contemporaries is the modernity of its construction technique: it is one of the first major French public facilities to make extensive use of reinforced concrete using the Hennebique system, patented in 1892, combined with brick and cut stone. This bold structural design, concealed behind a refined decorative cladding, gives it a pioneering status in the history of France's spa heritage. The interior still contains precious vestiges of its original splendour. The entrance hall still features murals by Jean Benderly, a subtle Orientalist artist whose luminous palette evokes visions of a fantasised Orient. The reception hall, meanwhile, boasts sculptural statues and large windows adorned with iridescent stained glass, creating an atmosphere suspended between a medical cure and a palace of pleasures. Disused since 1986 and listed as a Historic Monument the same year, the building has become the object of melancholy contemplation: that of sumptuous architecture deprived of its original function, awaiting a conversion worthy of its history. For heritage lovers, a visit here is a plunge back into the glory days of Belle Époque thermal baths, halfway between avant-garde industrial architecture and arts-and-crafts decoration.
Architecture
The former Évian-les-Bains spa is part of the eclectic architectural movement of the Belle Époque, with references to the French Renaissance and Classicism, enhanced by ornamentation drawing on the Art Nouveau repertoire. The main facade, arranged around a central pediment that has now been stripped of its side bell towers, reveals a concern for symmetry and representativeness typical of the major public facilities of the Third Republic. The main technical innovation was the use of reinforced concrete using the Hennebique system, one of the first examples on this scale in French spa architecture. This concrete skeleton, combined with brick infills and ashlar facings, made it possible to open up wide bays and create vast, light-filled interior spaces, essential to the building's balneotherapy function. The reception hall, designed as a monumental strolling area, was lit by large windows decorated with stained-glass windows featuring floral and geometric motifs typical of the turn of the century. The exterior ornamentation featured Alexandre Bigot's flamed stoneware, a ceramic material with shimmering shades that was very much in vogue in the 1900s, and which was used on several Parisian buildings of the period. Inside, Jean Benderly's murals in the entrance hall completed a coherent iconographic programme, celebrating the virtues of the waters and the well-being of spa-goers in an atmosphere that was both medical and hedonistic. Despite the loss of the central dome, the building retains most of its architectural legibility and remains an essential milestone in the history of the spa's heritage in Haute-Savoie.
Related Figures
Ernest Brunnarius — architecte concepteur de l'établissement (1900-1902)François Hennebique — ingénieur belge, inventeur du système de béton armé utilisé dans la constructionAlexandre Bigot — céramiste, auteur du décor en grès flammés des campaniles et du frontonJean Benderly — peintre orientaliste, auteur des peintures murales du vestibuleComte de Laizer — découvreur des vertus des eaux d'Évian à la fin du XVIIIe siècle
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Ancien établissement thermal located?
Ancien établissement thermal is located in Evian-les-Bains, Département 74 department, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, France.
When was Ancien établissement thermal built?
Ancien établissement thermal dates back to a period built in the modern era (19th-20th century).
Is Ancien établissement thermal open to visitors?
Ancien établissement thermal is currently closed to visitors.