Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The municipal swimming pool of Bègles, called "Les Bains", was decided in 1925 by the local socialist municipality and built between 1930 and 1932 by the architect Armand Blanchard, also an engineer of the commune. This ambitious project, the first of its kind in the Bordeaux agglomeration, combined an indoor swimming pool, dowel baths and a common vestibule, all made of reinforced concrete. The building, inaugurated on December 4, 1932, was distinguished by its Art Deco aesthetic, marked by mosaics, carved friezes and a controversial dome, criticized by the opposition press as a symbol staggered in this "fief of the International".

Innovative materials for the time, such as reinforced concrete, allowed for a wide use of glass, while interior and exterior decorations featured ceramics from the company Castiaux Frères, paintings from the Bime house, and Vignal sculptures. The mosaïqué floors of the hall, the bay windows decorated with solar or vegetal motifs, and the enamelled plates of Duvigneau reflected the influence of technical and hygienist advances of the 1930s. The swimming pool, classified as a Historic Monument in 1991, was closed in 1996 for non-compliance, before being rehabilitated in 2006 by Patrick Bouchain, combining heritage restoration and modernity (stainless tank, shed roof, and ecological equipment).

The 2006 rehabilitation transformed the old pond into a wooden playground and added wellness areas (sauna, hammam), a patio, and a organic restaurant in the old lobby. The project also incorporated ecological innovations, such as phytoremediation dechlorination of water and solar heating. Despite these developments, some original elements, such as the glass window and the Art Deco water buffet, disappeared. Today, "Les Bains" remains a unique testimony to the public architecture of the 1930s, mixing historical heritage and contemporary uses.

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