ABSTRACT
The occasions when construction technology becomes a significant driver in efforts to reform schools are rare. In France, new examples of experimental school buildings started to appear in the 1960s. During this period, building systems were created that responded to the new demand for open plans. The proposed paper is part of a dissertation project on the experimental school buildings developed by Jean Prouvé from 1932 to 72, that analyses the lesser-known part of his œuvre from three main perspectives: Prouvé’s methods of developing prefabricated building systems; pedagogical methods and their impact on architecture; and the developments of the French school construction program. The projects that are analyzed in this paper, the École Tabouret and École Elancourt, are part of the second half of Prouvé’s œuvre that have not previously been studied. These projects question the classroom as the determining unit of the building and introduce team-teaching methods for varying group sizes. The quality of Prouvé's system lies in his ability to develop a coherent whole using elements based on specific pedagogical demands. The paper traces the origins of the construction elements of the Elancourt School and their contribution to this collaborative design process.
