The Aincourt sanatorium was a treatment center specialized in pulmonary tuberculosis (phthisis) located in the village of Aincourt (Val-d'Oise department) in France.
The sanatorium, currently located in the French Vexin regional natural park, was built by architects Édouard Crevel and Paul Decaux between 1931 and 1933. It is one of the largest complexes of this category built in the 20th century. It was also a concentration camp between 1940 and 1942.
The building is currently partially occupied by the Vexin intercommunal hospital group. It has been listed as a historic monument since February 1, 1999.
A unique architectural ensemble
Designed to accommodate 150 patients each, three pavilions were built to treat tuberculous patients from Val d'Oise as well as foreigners.
Their architecture is identical and impressive in its proportions. These are three large buildings, 220 meters long and 12 meters wide, comprising three floors of rooms arranged in tiers and a rooftop terrace. Each level has a continuous treatment terrace divided by frosted glass screens designed to isolate each room. The terraces, or solariums, are crucial treatment galleries for the disease, as bacillary patients must spend several hours a day on these terraces during sunny hours, breathing pure air and required to rest completely.
This therapeutic specificity and their gigantism give these buildings the appearance of ocean liners set in the middle of a forest. The rooms are accessed internally by a huge circulation corridor. Two main staircases, built outside the main structure, flank each end of the central body. Their rounded stairwells benefit from natural lighting thanks to a lattice of glass slabs, significantly lightening their external appearance.
The central body is framed by annex buildings connected to it by a curved gallery. To the west are the medical services, including an operating room and a pneumothorax room; to the east are the kitchens, the dining hall, and the performance hall.
