Description
“La Maison du Docteur Gauthier” : a Manifesto Home by Jean Prouvé in the Vosges mountains
Built at the request of Doctor Pierre Gauthier, husband of Françoise Prouvé, daughter of the famous constructor Jean Prouvé, this family home built between 1961 and 1962 synthesises principles developed by the designer since the 1950s. It has been listed as a Historic Monument in 2005.
Set on a 4,900 m² sloped plot planted with fruit trees, the house offers approximately 215 m² of living space (280 m² total area) across two levels. It is accessed via an outdoor terrace sheltered by a large roof overhang supported by a metal console.
The main level houses the living spaces, widely open to the south with a spectacular panoramic view of the Vosges mountains and the town of Saint-Dié-des-Vosges below. A cozy living room is defined by a cast-iron fireplace with refractory brick and a triangular hearth, as well as a furniture ensemble evoking the work of designer Charlotte Perriand, consisting of a built-in bookcase, storage units, and a bench. Simone Prouvé created pure wool rugs for the house, which warm the floors covered in hexagonal tiles, as well as linen wall hangings.
At the center of the space, a reinforced concrete element contains the wet rooms. A kitchen equipped with a serving hatch opens onto the dining room and features a secondary window that allows natural light to enter. The room has retained its original fittings, such as the L-shaped laminated worktop, sliding door cabinets, and a wooden dining nook.
On the other side of this central block, a bathroom and a shower room, with walls covered in glass paste, open onto the sleeping area, which consists of three bedrooms with built-in storage.
The lower level, on the ground floor, includes three bedrooms, a garage, a cellar, a boiler room, and storage spaces. Some rooms are currently used as offices, a workshop, or a music lounge.
The house’s placement on a steep plot allows both levels to enjoy direct outdoor access. The property also includes three parking spaces.
A 25-minute walk from the town center of Saint-Dié-des-Vosges and its local shops and services, the Gauthier House benefits from a preserved natural environment.
It is a 45-minute drive from Nancy or Sélestat, 1 hour and 15 minutes from Strasbourg, 1 hour and 30 minutes from the Mulhouse-Basel airport, and 2 hours and 30 minutes from Luxembourg airport. A TGV line connects Paris in 2 hours and 15 minutes.
© Manuel Bougot, 2016
An achievement of Jean Prouvé’s research on housing
The Gauthier House is designed according to the principle of the “bearing core”: a prefabricated block, assembled in a factory, containing the water rooms, installed on a masonry base. It supports two longitudinal metal beams that carry a lightweight aluminum roof. The façades alternate between glass walls with thin metal frames and aluminum panels, inserted into metal stiffeners. This constructive structure is notable for its lightness and simplicity in design and execution. The Rousseau panels that form the ceilings are in excellent condition.
The built volume’s façades reflect the light, shadows, and colors of the surrounding vegetation, in constant dialogue with the environment. The warm and bright interior spaces were originally fully furnished and equipped with pieces signed by Jean Prouvé.
© Manuel Bougot, 2016
The “bearing core” house
The concept of the “bearing core” house was created in 1952 by Jean Prouvé and Maurice Silvy, an architect then interning at the Maxéville workshops, who worked on a study of the “Alba” house (aluminum and reinforced concrete). This construction method was later used in 1956 for the “Maison des Jours Meilleurs,” an emergency housing project designed in response to Abbé Pierre’s call after the harsh winter of 1954, and again in 1962 for the Seynave villa in Grimaud, and the Gauthier House, which adapted the system for a large family.
© Adagp, Paris, 2024
Jean Prouvé, the Builder
Part architect, part engineer, and part designer, Jean Prouvé left a unique mark on the history of architecture and construction.
An ironworker in Nancy during his early years, Jean Prouvé became a “builder” in 1930, quickly moving away from decorative ironwork to industrial furniture suited to the technological advances of the 20th century. He used metal to create second-phase construction elements in collaboration with the modern architects of his time: Eugène Beaudoin and Marcel Lods for the Maison du Peuple in Clichy-sur-Seine, and Pierre Jeanneret for a model of a demountable pavilion (8×8, 1941).
With standardized construction through the assembly of prefabricated parts, Jean Prouvé entered the field of domestic architecture. The devastation caused by World War II underscored the need to rebuild housing on a large scale and at a low cost. In this emergency context, the Ministry of Reconstruction and Urban Planning commissioned Jean Prouvé to create several pavilions to experiment with the system of houses assembled from factory-made parts in the Maxéville workshop (Nancy), where he experimented with folded sheet metal, which became the symbol of his technical genius.
In 1949, Jean Prouvé constructed the “Métropoles,” a series of 25 homes built through complete prefabrication. The central portal structure was reused in the industrialized houses of Meudon, built in the Paris suburbs with his brother Henri and architect André Sive. The pilot subdivision included ten Standard houses, of a type called “Métropole,” with stone walls and foundations. Throughout his career, Jean Prouvé built several villas that represent the most complete synthesis of industry, furniture, and construction systems, many of which are now protected as Historic Monuments.
Technical Information
Asking price: €890,000
Fees included, paid by the seller.
Full ownership
2024 Property tax: €2,808
Mixed heating: underfloor and radiators.
© Adagp, Paris, 2024
© Manuel Bougot, 2016
HISTORICAL MONUMENT
