Constructing a Spaceship

Although the sites for La Maison Tropicale were in Africa, the buildings were actually manufactured in Prouvé's atelier in Paris and then shipped to Naimey, Niger and 3,800 miles to Brazzaville in 6 containers loaded into the belly of an airplane. All of the components were flat and tightly packed yet each container was light enough for 2 men to carry.

House being unloaded from plane

The ability for the Maison Tropicale to be constructed and dismantled easily was critical to its design. Because the primary and most difficult tasks of construction were done at Prouvé's atelier, the jointed steel-frame structure was very easy to put together by the time it got to Brazzaville.

Unloading of the building and beginning of construction in Naimey, Niger.

Prouvé tried to mimick the system of cooling implemented in the Congo's local architecture yet maintain strength against the elements that traditional European construction offered.

Testing of construction in Maxeville, France

The Masion Tropicale's shell was made using a folded sheet-steel frame with both fixed and sliding wall panels. There were two central steel supports, shaped like inverted U's, which were the principal load bearers. These two supports were located in the inner cella portion of the Maison that was surrounded by a veranda on all sides; the incurring load was thus carried by the exterior veranda walls.

Louver detail from reconstruction building (Source)

Many parts of the house were adjustable, such as louvers and sliding doors, allowing for adequate ventilation needed in the Congo's warm and humid climate. These louvers were also designed to reflect the sun and deflect rain from hitting the walls of the building.

Porthole detail (Source)

Blue glass portals on the walls protected from solar radiation entering the interior.

Interior construction of the double-roof and roof venting. (Source)

The house's double roof structure with a long chimney down the center facilitated interior cooling and ensured permanent air circulation. This roof venting was protected by gauze so that mosquitos and other bugs could be kept out of the interior of the Maison.

Wooden slatted floor (Source)

The floor was made of wooden slats, also allowing for further ventilation from the cool air below the building, and was built upon metal pillars to raise the structure.

La Maison Tropicale was wired for electricity and included plumbing (Source)

Maison Tropicale. Jean Prouve (1951) from MRojo on Vimeo.

Video of La Maison Tropicale being assembled at Tate Modern
http://www.wallpaper.com/art/la-maison-tropicale-jean-prouve/2084

-Tegan Maccari



Information Citations:

Henry, Patrice. Jean Prouve: La Masin Tropicale, The Tropical House. Paris: Editions du Centre Pompidou, 2009.

"Jean Prouve: La Masin Tropicale, The House, The Architect, The Exhibition".
http://lamaisontropicale.com/www/
(accessed January 9 1010).

Peters, Nils. Prouve. Hohenzollernring: Taschen, 2006.


Image Sources:

"Installation view of the tropical house involved in an expirement at Maxeville" (image). Henry, Patrice. Jean Prouve: La Masin Tropicale, The Tropical House. Paris: Editions du Centre Pompidou, 2009, page 108.

"The dispatch of the first Tropical House to Africa was Niamey-bound, transported as air freight" (image). Henry, Patrice. Jean Prouve: La Masin Tropicale, The Tropical House. Paris: Editions du Centre Pompidou, 2009, pages 94-5.

"Tropical house being delivered and unloaded from a cargo aircraft" (image). Vegesack, Alexander van. Jean Prouve: The Poetics of the Technical Object. Vitra Design Stiftung, 2005, page 210.

"Vertebrae of the ventilation system and the legs of the porticos" (image). Henry, Patrice. Jean Prouve: La Masin Tropicale, The Tropical House. Paris: Editions du Centre Pompidou, 2009, page 96.