House of the People

In 1940, a work was unveiled that connects more deeply to the engineering explorations of Maurice Koechlin than to the functionalist ideas of its time. At a time of rising Nazism, which sought to suppress functionalism in Germany (National Socialism had its own architectural style), the city council of Clichy, led by its socialist mayor, chose the architectural duo Marcel Lods and Eugène Beaudouin to construct the People's House (Maison du peuple), with the assistance of designer Jean Prouvé and engineer Vladimir Bodiansky. The multifunctional hall had to be able to transform into a market for 1500 people, a ceremonial hall for 2000 people, a meeting room for 1500 people, and a theater or cinema for 1100 spectators. No concrete or mortar was used for the construction. The load-bearing structure consists of a steel frame made of rolled steel and an outer shell of sandwich panels made from rolled sheet metal with internal thermal insulation. Jean Prouvé took the design even further. The ceiling of the first floor can be folded and removed, and the roof above the main hall, as well as the surrounding wall, can be rolled away. The staircase, handrails, walls, and urinals in the restrooms are also made of metal. However, the sheet metal suffers in the aggressive Parisian climate. Everyone recognizes the uniqueness of this building as well as the entire work of Jean Prouvé, which is why they took their time with the costly reconstruction (a long eight years from 1995 to 2003). As early as 1983, the house was listed among significant French historical monuments.