Maison Tropicale

Last Tuesday saw the opening of the latest exhibition at the Tate Modern for the Design Museum – Maison Tropicale designed by revolutionary architect Jean Prouvé. The exhibition showcases the prototype house that was designed around the 1950’s to revolutionise and increase the amount of colonial homes in West Africa. The concept was based around the idea that these flat packed homes could be, through design, folded and neatly couriered in cargo planes to Africa creating cheaper and more efficient homes.

The prototype that sits outside the Tate Modern was originally erected in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo, in 1951. It was, in 2000 re-found in the Congo and bought to France to be restored. The houses that were made from folded sheet steel and lots of aluminium were in theory, supposed to be a cheaper alternative to sourcing local materials in which build homes from. However the house remained a prototype despite its high specification design, due to the fact that local triumphed over design rationale. The Conservative expatriate French Bureaucrats did not see the appeal of the visionary designs, and with no costs being saved, opted for the use of local materials and more culturally sympathetic homes.

Outstanding design, if you want to find out more the rest of Prouvé’s work and ideas are on display at The Design Museum entitled - The Poetics of the Technical Object.

Exhibition runs from 5th Feb to 13th April 2008 – remember to book your tickets.

Photo by edvvc over on Flickr.