Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

Villa Douce is a mansion located at 9 boulevard de la Paix in Reims, built between 1929 and 1932 as part of the reconstruction of the city after the First World War. Designed by architect Pol Gosset for André Douce, notary, it combines reinforced concrete with red brick in an Art Deco style. The building consists of two parts: a street wing housing the notarial study, and a reclining building dedicated to housing and receptions, equipped with a suspended staircase, a wrought iron ramp, and a music lounge with gallery and soundshaft.

The facades, roofs, the entrance hall, the stairwell with its decor (consoles, luminaires, ramp), as well as the music hall and its chimneys, were inscribed in the Historic Monuments by order of 29 June 1992. The villa was restored between 1986 and 1987 to accommodate the offices of the SOREFI, under the direction of architect Jean-Baptiste Michel. From 1994 to 2021 she was president of the University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne (URCA).

Today, the Douce villa remains an active cultural place, welcoming concerts, public visits and events. Its architecture, representative of Art Deco remois, bears witness to the urban and artistic boom of the 1920s and 1930s, a period marked by reconstruction and technical innovation, such as the use of reinforced concrete. The villa is part of a wider heritage, documented notably in works such as Reims Reconstruction 1920-1930 (Olivier Rigaud and Marc Bedarida, 1988) or Reims at the time of Art Deco (2006).

External links