The Nakhl Fort Oasis and the Maison Tropicale: La Maison Tropicale

In 1947, housing was ordered to be put in place for the generals involved in the colonization of the Congo. Architect Jean Prouvé, who devoted his career to prefabricated designs, was commissioned to design and manufacture prototypes of what would later be called "La Maison Tropicale". Because France was very committed to the assimilation of its colonies into the French culture, the Maisons were to be built using only French materials and building techniques, which contrasted the existing indigenous architecture.

Prouvé designed three prototypes which were of prefabricated construction. The prototypes of were made and partially assembled in Maxeville, France then shipped to their destination. One house was shipped to Niamey, Niger and the other two were shipped to Brazzaville, Congo.

The two prototypes sent to Brazzaville were a house which linked to an office via a bridge. Both buildings were very similar in design with the only main exception being that the office was smaller than the house. Here, the prototypes were placed on stilts over a swamp so it could be seen from street level and have a maximum visual impact for the promotion of the company Aluminum Francais. The smaller prototype was used as a company office for Aluminum Francais. The larger prototype was the temporary home of Jacques Piaget, the company's commercial director at the time.

Prouvé designed the Maison Tropicale based on a 1m by 1m grid. The smaller office building is 10m by 14m, while the larger house building is 10m by 18m. The height of both buildings is 4.8 metres.

The prototype which was shipped to Naimey was used as the office of Paul Herbe, an architect-planner of the Niger colony. Herbe eventually wanted to expand this type of architecture to the schools and institutions in the Niger colony. The design of this prototype closely followed the others.

La Maison Tropicale buildings in Brazzaville, Congo. (Source)

After the decolonization of the Congo and Niger, the prototypes remained there until being recently rescued. Currently, two of the houses are in France and the third in England where they are being restored.

Reconstructed La Maison Tropicale on display in Queens, New York (Source)

Timeline
1884-85 - Congo colonized by France
1905 - First pre-fabricated house built in Liverpool, England 1924 - Jean Prouve opens atelier in Nancy, France
1939 - Jean Prouvé makes pre-fabricated barracks for the French army
1944 - Prefab housing becomes increasingly popular because of its ability to grant the homeless homes quickly after the war
1947 - Jean Prouvé moves his atelier to Maxeville, France
- General Charles de Gualle commissions Prouvé to design and ship houses to the African French colonies
1951 - Three prototypes of La Maison Tropicale are made in Maxeville and shipped to Niamey and Brazzaville
1960 - Congo gains independence
2000 - Eric Touchaleaume salvages all three prototypes of La Maison Tropicale from Africa and ships them to Paris for restoration

Smaller Brazzaville Prototype:
2004 - Eric Touchaleaume sells the smaller prototype from Brazzaville to Robert Rubin, an American collector. Robert restores the house.
2005 - La Maison Tropicale is displayed at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut from February to May. Robert Rubin displayed La Maison Tropicale at the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles California from November to January 2006.
2006 - Rubin donates La Maison Tropicale to Le Centre Pompidou where it is to be displayed in an extension of the museum, Metz, located in Metz, France.

Larger Brazzaville Prototype:
2007 - La Maison Tropicale is shipped to Queens, New York for Christie's International Auction. For $4.97 million, it is bought by Andre Balazs, a founder of the New York Academy of Art.
2008 - La Maison Tropicale is exhibited outside Tate Modern in London, England
2010 - Andre Balazs plans on bringing his prototype back to a tropical environment, saying, "It will eventually end up as the centerpiece of some sort of environmentally sound resort [in Central America]".