Rehabilitation by the Heritage Lotto 2024-2025 (≈ 2025)
Budget: EUR 3.8 million.
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui Aujourd'hui (≈ 2025)
Position de référence.
Heritage classified
The swimming pool in full, with its equipment, including the playground of games, leisure and rest, according to the right-of-way delimited by a red line on the plan annexed to the decree (Box AD 142): inscription by order of 16 December 2016
Key figures
Alexandre Braud - Mayor and local industrial
Initiator and financier of the project.
André Pineau - French architect
Designer of the pool in 1952.
André Morice - Minister and former Secretary of State
Political support for the project.
Origin and history
The Alexandre-Braud swimming pool, located in Saint-Mars-la-Jaille in the commune of Vallons-de-l'Erdre (Pays de la Loire), is an emblematic building of the 20th century. Designed in 1952 by the Dutch architect André Pineau, it was the second open-air swimming pool in the Loire-Atlantique department. His inauguration took place on 3 July 1955, led by Alexandre Braud, mayor of the city and head of the local family business, as well as André Morice, Minister and former Secretary of State for Sports. Its art deco style, its blue mosaic basins (recalling the colors of the Braud company), and its original equipment (vestiaries, solarium-terrace, diving) make it an intact testimony to the architecture of the 1950s. The pool also includes a park with mini-beach, paddling pool and mini-golf, formerly decorated with Disney characters, reflecting the American influence of the time.
Classified as a Historic Monument in 2016, the swimming pool has maintained its original state without major modification. It accommodates approximately 10,600 bathers per year and remains a social and sporting place for the community. In 2024, it was designated an iconic site by the Heritage Lotto, launching a rehabilitation campaign until 2025 at an estimated cost of €3.8 million. This project aims to preserve its architectural heritage (such as the hangers of changing rooms dating back to the 1950s) while modernizing its infrastructure.
The building also illustrates the local industrial history, linked to the Braud enterprise, and the role of public facilities in the development of post-war leisure. Its ship-style mast and symmetrical entrances for swimmers and swimmers underline a desire for modernity and equal access. Today owned by the municipality, it symbolizes both an architectural heritage and a dynamic of revitalization of the 20th century heritage in Pays de la Loire.
