{"id":10296,"date":"2026-09-24T14:47:44","date_gmt":"2026-09-24T12:47:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.chatillonarchitectes.com\/?post_type=portfolio&p=10296"},"modified":"2026-09-24T14:47:44","modified_gmt":"2026-09-24T12:47:44","slug":"champs-de-bataille-de-verdun-fort-de-vaux","status":"publish","type":"portfolio","link":"https:\/\/www.chatillonarchitectes.com\/en\/portfolio\/champs-de-bataille-de-verdun-fort-de-vaux\/","title":{"rendered":"CHAMPS DE BATAILLE DE VERDUN – FORT DE VAUX"},"content":{"rendered":"
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VERDUN BATTLEFIELDS<\/h2>\n

MUSEUM TOUR AND WELCOME PAVILION AT FORT DE VAUX<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Built in the 1880s as part of the fortified belt around Verdun, Fort Vaux became one of the hardest-hit sites on the battlefield during the Battle of 1916 in World War I.<\/p>\n

A place of historical memory that opened to the public after the war, it retained an outdated museum layout that no longer met contemporary expectations regarding visitor experience and accessibility.<\/p>\n

Left without its main facade and subject to damage that jeopardized public access, the fort no longer reflected its pre-war appearance; its main elevation, obscured by the site\u2019s parking lot, was only noticeable upon closer inspection.<\/p>\n

The project, led by Chatillon Architectes and building on the works carried out at Fort Douaumont in 2017, combines restoration, safety measures, accessibility, and storytelling.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t

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The overall approach was to exercise the utmost restraint in the intervention, so as not to detract from either the lunar landscape of the site or the commemorative nature of the Verdun battlefields.<\/h2>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
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The scenic route now begins at the forecourt, which follows the historic path of the old moat, revealing the fort\u2019s facade once again while redirecting vehicular traffic to the edge of the wooded area. At the intersection of the forecourt and the approach path, a reception pavilion made of Corten steel and local wood opens up a dual view\u2014one of the fort\u2019s architecture and the other of its surrounding landscape\u2014with its cantilevered roof providing shade and shelter.<\/p>\n

The tour continues through the original galleries and casemates, following the route taken by the soldiers in 1916: the interpretive elements are integrated into the space without altering its atmosphere, where the cold, humidity, and darkness all contribute to the experience. Metal, chosen over wood for its resistance to the extremely high ambient humidity and for its malleability, evokes through its physicality the silent and violent history of the site; the rust-colored hue of Corten steel distinguishes the contemporary additions from an older historical layer, while the exhibition design follows the architecture, using the same colors and materials.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Location<\/strong>
\nDouaumont-Vaux<\/h6>\n
Project type<\/strong>
\nRestoration, museum tour, and landscaping
\nConstruction of a Welcome Pavilion<\/h6>\n
Program<\/strong>
\nCulture<\/h6>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>
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Project owner<\/strong>
\nM\u00e9morial de Verdun \u2013 Champ de bataille,
\nDRAC Grand Est, SEBL Grand Est<\/h6>\n
Team<\/strong>
\nChatillon Architectes<\/h6>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>
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Budget<\/strong>
\n3,1 M\u20ac HT<\/h6>\n
Timeline<\/strong>
\n2022-2026<\/h6>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>
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<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u00a9 Chatillon Architectes - Antoine Mercusot CHAMPS DE BATAILLE DE VERDUN PARCOURS MUS\u00c9AL ET PAVILLON D'ACCUEIL DU FORT DE VAUX \u00a9 Chatillon Architectes - Antoine Mercusot \u00c9difi\u00e9 dans les ann\u00e9es 1880 au sein de la ceinture fortifi\u00e9e de Verdun, le fort de Vaux est devenu, au cours de la bataille de 1916, l'un des lieux…","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10309,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"portfolio_category":[100,104],"portfolio_tag":[],"class_list":["post-10296","portfolio","type-portfolio","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","portfolio_category-paysage","portfolio_category-centres-culturels"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chatillonarchitectes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio\/10296","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chatillonarchitectes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chatillonarchitectes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/portfolio"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chatillonarchitectes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chatillonarchitectes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10296"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.chatillonarchitectes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio\/10296\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10323,"href":"https:\/\/www.chatillonarchitectes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio\/10296\/revisions\/10323"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chatillonarchitectes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10309"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chatillonarchitectes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10296"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"portfolio_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chatillonarchitectes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio_category?post=10296"},{"taxonomy":"portfolio_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chatillonarchitectes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio_tag?post=10296"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}