ABSTRACT
Built in 1954 in only a few weeks, Jean Prouvé's private house (Figure 17.1) is set on a very steep slope on one of the hillssurrounding Nancy, on land he acquired at a very low price because it was considered non-constructible.The house results from the optimisation of:
adaptation to this beautiful wooded south-facing spot, overlooking Nancy centre. A platform had to be dug, almost as wideas the vertical retaining wall which resulted from the excavation process;
the recuperation of some products from his Maxeville workshops located close to his property, which had been recentlyabandoned. (‘Le comble est que j'ai dû construire ma maison, principalement avec des éléments de récupération dans lestock à détruire des ateliers');
Prouvé's revolutionary idea of construction, based on the combination of a light structure and envelope, which wasparticularly well adapted in this situation.
