Memorial of the French Resistance, Vassieux-en-Vercors
Our task in designing the Memorial was to create a structure which would evoke both the martyrdom of the village of Vassieux in 1944 and the memory of the Vercors Resistance – and indeed all resistance movements. The Memorial clings to the mountainside, dominating the village and offering a panoramic view of the plateau. A memorial trail follows the contours of the different levels of the site, ending on the immense overhang above the plateau. Although the memorial is low to the ground, it captures the daylight through the long skylights which define its structure, with high far-reaching beams which guide visitors on their journey and link the empty spaces. The raw concrete blends into the rocks, the planted terraces retrace the undulations of the skylights and “look-outs” pivot in the wind. The architecture is discreet but charged with emotion, echoing the museography.
Team
Director
Project leader
Sonia Doucerain
Team
Fabienne Ferley, Serge Gascon, Alain Ratsimiah, Anne-Claude Girolimetto, François Terpend, Hélène Staffolani
Quantity surveying
Alain Mollaret, Roland Peters