Zone Rouge (lit. Red Zone) was the name given to the area in France which had been ravaged by four years of fighting. The ground had been laid bare and the towns and infrastructure had all but been destroyed.
The reconstruction of the villages, towns and cities was driven by the wishes of the elected representatives and the imagination of the architects who were commissioned to draw the plans. The rich architectural heritage of Arras was faithfully rebuilt to its pre-war glory whereas towns such as Bailleul adopted a traditional regional style which they combined with innovative town planning. Other towns such as Cambrai and Lens chose to rebuild in the modern Art Deco style.
Modernity was also reflected in the choice of materials used during the period of reconstruction, reinforced concrete was immensely popular, however traditional materials such as brick and stone were far from ignored.