The Saint-Louis de Villemomble church located in Seine-Saint-Denis is part of the selection of the 18 exceptional sites of the Heritage Loto whose restoration will be partly financed.
For its fifth edition, the Heritage Foundation has chosen 18 sites to save throughout France: castles, churches, a cinema, or for example an Italian theater. In Ile-de-France, a church that of Saint-Louis de Villemomble was chosen and will benefit from a renovation.
The church built at the beginning of the 19th century will see the renovation of its bell tower and the treatment of the concrete of the building.
The Saint-Louis church was built in several stages. Its construction began in 1901, but it remained unfinished due to lack of financial means. It will finally be completed in 1958. The building is a fine example of industrial architecture adapted to sacred architecture. Indeed, the architect Georges Dumont uses new materials from the beginning of the 20th century such as cast iron and iron, which he conceals on the outside under a millstone coat, pierced with numerous bay windows. The whole gives great clarity and lightness to the church, built on the plan of Roman churches.
“The church has a remarkable bell tower for the time and is also distinguished by its monumental sculptures by direct cutting of concrete”, explains the Heritage Foundation. The bell tower was built with a concrete frame in 1926 by the architect Paul Tournon and the sculptor Charles Sarrabezolles dit “Carlo”, known for being the inventor of the technique of sculpture by direct carving of concrete in engagement. In Villemomble, it is on the statues of the campanile that he will put this technique into practice.
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The artist to work does not use a mould, the sculpture is done directly on the cement stripped. It is therefore necessary to carve monumental works without reference to a model and quickly before the cement is dry.
This technique of sculpture by direct carving of the concrete in engagement, thus allows him to create important sets of colossal statues – 28 figures – intimately linked to the architectural structure.
Today the building needs to be restored. It is for the municipality to rehabilitate a major building of the heritage of the municipality. This monument was listed as a historical monument in 1996 (apart from its Saint-Genest chapel built in 1985). The municipality would also like to obtain the classification of the bell tower. The main problem affecting the building is the state of the concrete of the bell tower, which bursts. To secure the perimeter, the town hall had a protective net and retaining straps installed around this campanile.
The work will begin with the restoration of the bell tower, the treatment of the concrete, the verification and repair of the gutters and gutters, and also the restoration of the faulty chimney stacks on the choir side, without forgetting the lighting of the bell tower.
“To make this selection of 18 sites, we try to show the diversity of the heritage in danger”, remember Stéphane Bern in charge of the Mission heritage.
“Our job is to maintain a balance between the monuments that are protected and therefore classified or listed and those that are not”continues the host. “We also make sure that the different types of heritage are represented, we choose ancient monuments but also works that belong to the heritage of the 20th century”clarifies Stéphane Bern.
The prizes awarded through the Heritage Loto will be announced during the next European Heritage Days in September. Since the first edition in 2018, the Heritage Mission has helped 645 sites for their restoration work, including 90 emblematic regional heritage projects and 555 departmental sites. The 2021 edition of the Loto broke a record by collecting more than 28 million euros. Since its launch, this Loto has brought 100 million euros to the Mission.
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