Ghent University (UGent) is investigating ways to protect France's dilapidated Fort Boyard from the sea at the request of the French government. The fort was built on a sandbank off the French Atlantic port of La Rochelle in a bid to protect the French coast from British attack. Scientists will test different scenarios in a special wave basin in Ostend (West Flanders) and measure the impact of waves.
Flemish scientists from UGent help to save France’s iconic Napoleonic Fort Boyard
Colin Clapson
Published:
UGent scientists have already started work on their study at the Coastal & Ocean Basin in Ostend. The fortress earlier came to prominence in popular culture thanks to a TV show that could have provided inspiration for ITV’s ‘I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here’ and in which participants had to complete tasks and solve riddles in order to escape. The challenge facing scientists today is now different: the fortress will end up as a ruin if nothing is done to protect it from the sea.
In April, the French department or county Charente-Maritime announced a major 44 million-euro renovation project. Part of this money will go to Flemish researchers at UGent. The exact amount is shrouded in mystery. Atlantic Ocean waves and exposure to bad weather mean that the early 19th-century structure is now in very poor condition.
The fort is going to be protected by a new sea wall, a port of call and a breakwater. Not only the fortress, but also its foundations should thus be better protected against the ravages of the ocean. The landing port should also make it easier for people to visit. The designs have now been finalised. They now need to be tested out.
That is where the scientists at UGent come in. They have printed a scale model of the fort using a 3D printer and have cast the structure in concrete. The model is only 2 metres in size, but in a 900-square-metre bath, they will now create waves mimicking the conditions off Atlantic France.
‘We are specialised in this,’ explains director Maximilian Streicher. ‘We can simulate storms of the type that only occur every 10, 50 or 100 years. We can also test everyday conditions. In the wave pool we can simulate a situation very precisely, which is not possible in other pools.’
‘Most of the time we are working for companies that install solar panels, wind turbines and generators at sea. For example, the new casino in Middelkerke also underwent similar tests. This project is special, especially since the building belongs to western Europe's collective memory.’
From Napoleonic fortress to TV icon
TV viewing Flemings of a certain age will remember the fort thanks to a 90s TV programme ‘The Keys of Fort Boyard’. The game show was first aired on French television and later surfaced in Flemish-Dutch versions on screens in the Low Countries. In the show, contestants had to escape by carrying out a variety of tasks. The show still runs on Swedish TV where they are now into their 25th year.
In addition to being a military fortress this unusual building previously also served as a prison. It was initiated by the Emperor Napoleon but was not finished until 1857 - years after his death in British captivity in the island of Saint Helena, where he was held after his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo in present day Belgium at the hands of the Duke of Wellington at the head of Anglo-Allied forces. The oval-shaped fort is almost 70 metres long and 30 metres wide.
The renovation of Fort Boyard is being commissioned by the Department of Charente Maritime. The Architecture Patrimoine agency is responsible for the design, designers BRL are in charge of technical studies, ETPO for studies relating to the execution of the work. Work on the fort will start next year and last three years.