PHD Beaujon Hospital, Clichy

Lila Bonneau defended a doctoral thesis in November 2021 (Université Paris Cité - École Nationale Supérieure Paris-Val de Seine) on:

"De l'origine aux devenirs de l'architecture thérapeutique du XXe siècle et de ses milieux: l'hôpital Beaujon à Clichy (1935-2021)."

This monographic building research project focuses on the Beaujon Hospital in Clichy, inaugurated in 1935 (Urbain Cassan-Louis Plousey architects and Jean Walter, architect-contractor). The first high-rise hospital in Europe, this "healing machine" struck a striking balance between the international influences of Americanism and the rationalism of French building culture. The hospital complex also reflects the hygienist, functionalist and Art Deco aesthetic approaches of the inter-war period. It also draws its strength from the designers' desire to build a space conducive to well-being and healing. Considered obsolete in the face of medical developments and increasing technical and regulatory restrictions, the Beaujon hospital is set to change its original use, although it has undergone increasingly rapid adaptations, particularly at the time of the 2020-2021 health crisis. Through an understanding of the site's history and memory, from its genesis and anamnesis to its current state, this thesis seeks to shed light on the tangible and intangible values that make up the 'Beaujon Spirit'. The first study to cover the space and time of this building and its surroundings, a milestone and icon of twentieth-century hospital architecture, this research seeks to open up future prospects, based on an analysis of the potential for transformation of an exceptional work.