Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Sabourin Sanatorium Hospital, located north of Clermont-Ferrand on the slopes of the Puy de Chanturgue, was designed in the 1930s by architect Alberic Aubert. Influenced by the theories of Walter Gropius and Le Corbusier, he embodied the modernist architecture of the inter-war period in Auvergne. The site, chosen for its isolation, sunshine and moderate altitude, met the health criteria of the time to treat tuberculosis. The main building, 96 metres long and 4 storeys high, was nicknamed "the ship" because of its slender shape.

The project, launched in 1929 by a unsuccessful competition, was finally entrusted to Alberic Aubert, architect of the civilian Hospices of Clermont-Ferrand. The construction (1932–35) largely exceeded the original budget (10 million francs against 5.6 planned), causing controversy. The sanatorium, named in tribute to Dr. Charles Sabourin (pneumonical pioneer), was inaugurated in 1936 under the direction of Pierre Luton. Partially destroyed by bombardment in 1944, it was reconstructed identically and refocused on pneumology in the following decades.

Disused in 1997, the site became a wasteland before being saved by its classification at the Historic Monuments in 2000. Between 2006 and 2015, he was rehabilitated to host the École nationale supérieure d'architecture de Clermont-Ferrand (ENSACF). Its reinforced concrete frame, its technical innovations (mountain beds, bacteriological centre) and its clean aesthetic – white facades, horizontal bays, roof terrace – make it a major testimony of functionalism in France. A controversy persists on the authorship of the project, some assigning a key role to architect Valentin Vigneron.

Sanatorium was part of a national fight against tuberculosis, an endemic disease after the First World War. Clermont-Ferrand, with overcrowded hospitals, saw the opportunity to upgrade its medical infrastructure. The building, organized in genreous wings (men in the east, women in the west), integrated innovative therapeutic spaces such as a solarium and sunny rooms. Its decline in the 1970s reflected the evolution of care, before its renaissance as a place of education.

Today, Sabourin combines heritage and pedagogy. Gustave Gournier's bas-reliefs, Georges Bernardin's ironworks and the traces of the bombings recall his complex history. Ranked "Twentieth Century Heritage" in 2004, it symbolizes the transition between medicine, architecture and collective memory, while providing an exceptional setting for future architects.

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