Here, in 1914, was a conception of a system of construction which envisaged the problems of post-war reconstruction. It was only later, in 1929, at the time of the Loucheur Law, that the principles of the Domino House could be applied.

The problem was the following: the first widespread devastation of the great war had been in Flanders in September 1914. The war was supposed to have lasted only three months! The destroyed villages should have been rebuilt in several months also!

A structural system was conceived - a framework - completely independent of the floorplans of the house: this frame carried the floors and staircases. It was to be fabricated out of standardized elements to be attached to one another permitting great variety in the grouping of the houses. The reinforced concrete was to be made without formwork; to be more exact, there would be a special arrangement set up on the site which would permit the pouring of absolutely smooth and level floor slabs by means of a simple scaffolding of double-T beams fastened temporarily to collars fixed to the top of each column; the columns of reinforced concrete poured at the commencement of the work would be aligned by the above system of scaffolding. The contracter would deliver the frames marked and grouped upon the order of the architect-planner or, more simply, uponthe order of theclient. Another contractor would furnish all the additional elements, which could be mass-produced: the windows, doors, etc.

This would result in a completely new method of construc¬tion: the windows would be attached to the structural frame, the doors would be fixed with their frames and lined up with wall panels to form partitions. Then the construction of the exterior walls could begin.

Extract from Le Corbusier et Pierre Jeanneret, Oeuvre complète, volume1, 1910-1929