Adventures of Les Maisons Tropicales

Fifty years passed for La Maison Tropical in Brazzaville, Congo, before it was taken by Eric Touchaleaume, a famous art dealer of Paris. Le Maison was later sent to New York for an auction and the larger half was bought by hotelier and entrepreneur Andre Balazs for five million dollars. The smaller half was sent back to France and is now on display at the Tate Modern in London.


Edited by Helena Dini Dec 11 4:28 PM
Edited by Jennifer Lim Dec 11 6:27 PM

Adventures of Aluminum

Bauxite (the main source of aluminum) is extracted from French colonial Africa, and then shipped to France where the bauxite is converted to aluminum and used in the manufacture of final products.

Edited by Helena Dini Dec 11 4:34 PM

College de Ouagadougou

Edited by Helena Dini Dec 11 9:45 AM

Perspective Sketches

“Perspective sketches by Jean Prouvé depicting a variant of the colonial house entirely in aluminum, with external stanchions, cross and longitudinal beams and roof pans. The in-depth study was never realized, but the J. Prouvé Workshops demonstrated by it the possible uses for aluminum in buildings, which they later put into effect in the Pavillon du Centenaire de l’Aluminum in 1954.”

Sulzer, 2004.

Bibliography

Eric Touchaleaume. Jean Prouvé # Les Maisons Tropicales. Paris: Port des Champs - Elysees, 2006.

Design for a "Tropical" House, 1949.

Perspective drawing of La Maison Tropicale.

Bibliography

Eric Touchaleaume. Jean Prouvé # Les Maisons Tropicales. Paris: Port des Champs - Elysees, 2006.

Edited by Helena Dini Dec 11 8:23PM

Aerated Roof on Adobe Walls, Circa 1949.

One of the first designs for the roof on La Maison Tropicale. This plan is very similar to the roof placed on the tropical house in Niamey.

Ventilation

Since La Maison Tropicale was built in a tropical climate it features an ingenious natural ventilation system. It uses the heat on the roof of the house to draw in fresh air through openings in the walls and up into the ceiling. There are also adjustable sunshades around the veranda, double-skinned insulated walls and sliding doors with lovely little circular portholes of blue glass.

Veranda

- wrap around

- sunscreen with manually adjustable aluminum slots

Facade

-two alternating types of aluminum panels

-some fixed some solid

-others sliding and fitted with portholes and circular ventilation and rotary blades

Roof

-aluminum panels is separate from metal ceiling therefore a double roof airflow

-ridge beam assembly form a longitudinal roof lantern protected from the sum that also generates a flue action which removes hot air.

Bibliography

Eric Touchaleaume. Jean Prouvé # Les Maisons Tropicales. Paris. Port des Champs - Elysees, 2006

The Poetics of the Technical Object p208