At the request of the Minister of Reconstruction at the end of the War, Jean Prouvé designed demountable and transportable pavilions for the temporary shelter of the War homeless in eastern France. In perfecting the axial portal frame system patented in 1939, he responded to the urgency of the situation with a rapid, economical and adaptable solution. “It’s a race against time that we must undertake.” Temporary architecture gave him the opportunity to experiment with an industrial process that could be made permanent.
