Background: in 1922 Ferdinand-Fillod, native of Saint-Amour (Jura), began constructing metal huts for construction sites. He very quickly set up radical new methods for building with metal. As of 1928, he developed a system for prefabricating metal buildings that he patented worldwide. Then followed the steel panel (1929), the totally steel house, the sloping walls (1935) and the vertical walls (1950’s). Over the last twenty years, historians have been discovering the importance of this pioneer in the field of prefabrication, fifteen years before Jean-Prouvé.
The building, with sloping walls, is composed of vertical metal bays, adjoined to one another. Each bay has two arched crossbeams, made of hot and then cold formed steel, separated by spacers. A ribbed panel then fits in between the crossbeams. Said panel can, in accordance with requirements, be optionally equipped with an awning window or replaced by a door panel. Sheet metal ridging is then fitted on the top, forming the roof of the building. The unit therefore becomes a continuous metal carcass, virtually in one piece, the length of which depends on the number of crossbeams added. Gable walls, fitted into the last crossbeams at each end of the building, can house doors or windows. These buildings were entirely made in the Fillod factories in accordance with the exact needs of each user. They were then delivered to the construction sites as separate components ready to be easily assembled courtesy of detailed erection instructions. The buildings with sloping walls, made in various widths, are extremely versatile. All the component parts being standardised, they can be altered so as to modify their interior space and possible sleeping capacity. Furthermore, the component parts, simply fitting together, can be assembled and dismantled several times. The number of bays can be reduced or increased as required and the buildings can be segmented so as to delimit areas with different vocations.