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Origin and history

The 4 G metal house of the Forges of Strasbourg is an emblematic building of the 2nd quarter of the 20th century, located at 10 rue de l'Industrie, in the commune of Grand-Quevilly (Seine-Maritime, Normandy). This prefabricated metal housing, designed to be economical, was made by the Strasbourg Forges, a major industrial player of the time. It is part of a series of 500 similar houses built between 1929 and 1930 for the administration of state railways, notably in Nantes, Le Mans, Thouars and Rouen.

This project was the result of a competition launched in 1928 by the Strasbourg Forges for the production of metal housing in series. The Grand-Quevilly house, designed by architects Adrien Brelet, André Le Donné and Oscar Nitzchké, illustrates this industrial innovation. Its metal structure, its facades of corrugated sheet painted in green (colour of passenger cars and steam locomotives), as well as its original interior and exterior elements (doors, metal shutters) remained intact.

The house was listed as historic monuments by order of 30 July 2012, thus recognizing its heritage value. It reflects a period in which industrialisation and prefabrication have revolutionized housing, particularly for railway workers. Its interior layout, centered around a distribution room, reflects a functional design adapted to the needs of railway families.

Owned by a public institution in the State, this monument now retains its authenticity, both in its large work (metal frame, beams) and in its second work (metal carpentry elements). It is a rare and preserved example of industrial architecture applied to social housing in the early twentieth century.

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