Modernist house

This comfortable, functional and bright house spans 215 m² over two levels (115 m² living space and 100 m² for conversion). The ground floor comprises a living room with fireplace and terrace, a kitchen, four bedrooms, plenty of storage space and a shower room. The basement comprises a workshop, a laundry room, a storeroom and two rooms with overhead lighting.

This house is ideally located in a charming, leafy development on the heights of Meudon, on the edge of the forest. It is close to the town centre, schools, a collège and the train station for Paris Montparnasse.

Of the fourteen houses on this development, ten are “Métropole” houses, while the others are based on a model known as the “Maison Coque”, presented by Jean Prouvé at the Salon des Arts ménagers in 1951. This house is of the “Métropole” type: the original construction principle consists of an axial portico supporting a transverse beam that allows complete freedom of layout. The shell is made up of self-supporting sheet steel panels, including sash doors and windows. A rubble masonry base ensures that the building blends in with the terrain. The presence of wood on the interior provides visual comfort.

In 1963, the house was extended by architect André Lacoste, a firm believer in Jean Prouvé houses. A new house was built on top of the original, measuring 8 metres by 8 metres. Unable to extend using Prouvé components and not wishing to do neo-Prouvé, the architect opted for a project of his own composition with a modern character influenced by Japanese architecture: the facades are composed of panelling with emalite infill and wooden uprights, and large openings overlooking the delicately landscaped garden planted with trees.

Meudon is home to some remarkable examples of twentieth-century architecture, including the villa-workshop of the painter and leader of the De Stijl movement, Théo Van Doesburg, the villa-workshop of the visual artist André Bloc and the prefabricated metal houses built by Jean Prouvé.

The origins of this operation lie in the common spirit that developed in 1945 between the builder Jean Prouvé and Eugène Claudius-Petit, the future Minister for Reconstruction and Town Planning. The two men shared and defended the same ideas on the problems of urban planning and reconstruction, in particular on the importance of industrialising construction to solve the need for housing and facilities.

The project began with a contract between the Ministry of Reconstruction and Urban Planning (M.R.U.) and the Ateliers Jean Prouvé in Maxéville, Lorraine, for industrialised houses, and a development opportunity seized by the project managers, André Sive and Henri Prouvé. The houses were assembled in Meudon between September and December 1951.

This housing estate in Meudon marks an important stage in the development of prefabrication for individual housing. It is an exemplary case of industrial craftsmanship, with total control over the design and manufacturing process, from the sheet metal to the finished house. Initially designed in response to the post-war housing shortage, these pavilions with their distinctive aesthetic now form an elegant residential complex.