Grand magasin des anciens "Etablissements Aubrun"
MonumentHidden Treasure
Grand magasin des anciens "Etablissements Aubrun", located in Bourges (Cher), is a Renaissance château built in the 16th century. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Period
- Renaissance (16th century)
- Location
- Bourges, Cher, Centre-Val de Loire
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.0841, 2.3953
- Mérimée Reference
- PA18000031
A Art Deco gem in the heart of Bourges, this former department store built in 1928-1929 conceals beneath its geometric façades a breathtaking hall with a suspended reinforced concrete staircase and painted medieval beams from the 16th century.
History
In the heart of Bourges, a stone's throw from Saint-Etienne's cathedral, the former Établissements Aubrun represent a little-known but striking page in the history of French commerce. Built between 1928 and 1929 on the site of a completely demolished city block, they bear witness to the modernist ambitions that swept through provincial towns between the wars, offering a bourgeois clientele a temple to consumerism with a resolutely Art Deco elegance. What makes this monument truly unique is the building's superimposition of two radically distinct eras. Beneath the geometric staff friezes and the functional curves of the reinforced concrete, traces of an early sixteenth-century mansion survive: two painted beams still visible on the first floor, left over from the stair turret of the former Lemaire-Doullé mansion, decorated with fantastic animals and hunting scenes of remarkable freshness of tone. This silent dialogue between the Renaissance and modernism is one of the most unexpected curiosities to be found in the heritage of Bruges. The interior space, even though it has been partially altered over the decades, retains the imprint of architect Sylvère Laville's original design: a central hall organised around a reinforced concrete suspended staircase with a double symmetrical evolution, the structural lightness of which is still surprising today. The circular galleries that encircle each level, the corbelled balconies at the corners and the octagonal posts that punctuate the space bear witness to a level of construction expertise in keeping with the great Parisian buildings of the period. A visit to the former Établissements Aubrun is also like walking through a living fragment of Berruyère town planning: the building is part of a fabric of shopping streets where the medieval past is evident on every façade. For architecture enthusiasts, photographers and business historians alike, this building, which has been protected as a Historic Monument since 2005, offers a rare experience of temporal superimposition, far removed from the beaten tourist track.
Architecture
Designed by architect Sylvère Laville and built between 1928 and 1929, the Aubrun department stores' is fully in keeping with the Art Deco movement that marked French commercial architecture between the wars. The façade, punctuated by horizontal and vertical lines, geometric motifs and a sober but assertive treatment of solids and voids, expresses modernity without ostentation, suited to a cultivated provincial town. The vertical composition - largely glazed commercial ground floor, two storeys, attic and dome over a terrace - gives the building a notable urban presence without breaking the scale of the surrounding Berruyère fabric. The interior reveals the sophistication of the original project: a central hall, initially crowned by a glazed ceiling forming a skylight, was structured by eight posts per level supporting an octagonal girder. Four corbelled balconies at the corners enlivened the height of the space. The whole structure was clad in plaster and decorative geometric friezes in staff, applied in relief using a classic but finely mastered technique. The centrepiece of the design, the reinforced concrete suspended staircase with its double symmetrical evolution from a central resting landing, demonstrated a structural virtuosity that has won the admiration of specialists. Each level formed a circular gallery, allowing fluid movement around the central void. An exceptional survival within this modern complex, two painted 16th-century beams remain visible on the first floor, testifying to the care taken during construction to partially preserve the remains of the Hôtel Lemaire-Doullé. This architectural palimpsest - Renaissance set in Art Deco concrete - is the building's most precious heritage signature, giving it a historical depth that is rare for a commercial building.
Related Figures
Sylvain Aubrun — fondateur du commerce en 1836, artisan de l'expansion progressive du siteSylvère Laville — architecte du grand magasin, auteur des plans de la reconstruction de 1928-1929Famille Lemaire-Doullé — propriétaires de l'hôtel Renaissance dont subsistent la tourelle et les poutres peintesArtisans peintres anonymes (années 1500-1530) — auteurs des planches et poutres ornées d'animaux fantastiques et de scènes de chasse
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Grand magasin des anciens "Etablissements Aubrun" located?
Grand magasin des anciens "Etablissements Aubrun" is located in Bourges, Cher department, Centre-Val de Loire region, France.
When was Grand magasin des anciens "Etablissements Aubrun" built?
Grand magasin des anciens "Etablissements Aubrun" dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Grand magasin des anciens "Etablissements Aubrun" open to visitors?
Grand magasin des anciens "Etablissements Aubrun" is currently closed to visitors.