Demountable Shelter, patent, 1940
The patent application filed by Ateliers Jean Prouvé outlined the construction principle for modular, demountable semi-metallic structures. Drawing on the prototype built by Jean Prouvé’s brother Pierre, it also spelled out possible variants in terms of infills—steel or fibrocement—and assembly, the latter being described in meticulous detail. This commitment by the Ateliers Jean Prouvé to a thoroughgoing mass-production approach was backed up in the application’s specifications by inclusion of the weight ratio of the components and the price of the various models: the 4x4m version, for example, cost 8,000 francs.