Nelson, Paul Daniel

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Nelson, Paul Daniel (1895–1979). French architect of American birth. He worked in Paris with Perret and befriended Le Corbusier. By 1928 he had established his own office there, pioneering research in hospital design. The Petite Maison de Santé, near Paris (1930–2), was one of his first independent designs. In 1946–50, with others, he built the France/USA Memorial Hospital, Sant-Lô, using his invention of the flexible curtain-wall. He developed an egg-shaped operating-theatre for hospitals that permitted better asepsis (not having angles that were difficult to clean) and lighting. His best-known project was the Maison Suspendue (Suspended House) of prefabricated units hung from a steel cage (1936–8), which was widely exhibited in Europe and the USA. He also designed hospitals at Dinan (1963–8) and Arles (1965–74).

Bibliography

Kalman (1994);
Malave (1994);
Jane Turner (1994);