La Maison Tropicale, Jean Prouvé

Video footage of the construction

February in London is far from tropical, but this hasn't stopped the Tate Modern, the Design Museum and hotelier Andre Balazs, adding an exotic touch to the freezing cold metropolis.

Transported from its former home in Congo’s Brazzaville, one of visionary French modernist Jean Prouvé’s La Maison Tropicale prototype houses has been rebuilt right on the Tate Modern's front lawn, and opens to the public on Tuesday 5 February.

La Maison Tropicale by Jean Prouvé, beside Queensboro Bridge, NYC, in 2007

The house was one of three prefab modular prototypes that Prouvé (1901-1984) designed and manufactured for West Africa between 1949-1951, as an attempt to address the housing shortage in France’s African colonies.

The lightweight structure is made out of folded sheet steel and aluminium, and stands on concrete stilts. In impeccable industrial style, the house is constructed to work perfectly with the local climate, featuring a veranda and an adjustable aluminium sunscreen, while the blue glass portholes protect against UV rays, and the double roof increases ventilation.

In 2000, the houses were found in a less than perfect condition, and were dismantled and shipped to France for a full restoration.

Andre Balazs, who recently became the proud owner of this Maison Tropicale following its auction in New York last year, has loaned it for the upcoming exhibition at the Tate, in support of the Design Museum’s major Jean Prouvé exhibition, before he finds it a new home in a warmer climate.

4 February 2008 | Architecture