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Origin and history

The Arques-la-Battle school group, built between 1933 and 1935, is a notable example of the 20th century functional architecture in Normandy. Designed by architect Georges Thurin, it is distinguished by its clean style, pure lines and its use of coated concrete. The complex, organized around a central rotunda, consists of two symmetrical wings of six classrooms each, separated by sex, as well as housing for the direction and bath-dowels. Its inauguration in September 1935 marked the culmination of an ambitious project for the time, reflecting the hygienist and pedagogical principles of the 1930s.

The building is located in the Place Léon-Baudelot, in the heart of Arques-la-Bataille, in the Seine-Maritime department. Its innovative plan includes terraced meadows and a preserved fence wall, elements protected since the inscription of the monument to historical monuments by decree of 18 January 2001. The modernity of the whole, characterized by an architectural recount and rational spatial organization, makes it a rare testimony of the evolution of public school facilities in France during the inter-war period. Subsequent restoration campaigns, such as the partial replacement of carpentry, allowed its conservation.

Owned by the municipality, the school group also embodies a political and social will to democratize access to education in the 1930s. His architect, Georges Thurin, applied avant-garde principles for the time, combining functionality and modern aesthetics. The separation of spaces by sex, typical of schools of this period, and the integration of bath-dowels, underline the importance attached to hygiene and order in public educational projects. Today, the monument remains a major historical and architectural landmark in the urban landscape of Arques-la-Battle.

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