In just six years, the French engineer Raymond Camus achieved remarkable success. In 1950, he initiated the production of concrete panels in an abandoned warehouse at the port of Le Havre. By 1956, he signed a contract to export his heavy prefabrication system to the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics). The article describes Raymond Camus’ pioneering projects in Le Havre. Between 1949 and 1953, Camus constructed 10 apartment buildings and 65 detached houses, employing his heavy prefabrication system. In 1949, he leased a disused hangar at the port of Le Havre to establish his workshop for casting concrete panels. The initial panels were crafted manually by unskilled laborers and transported by semi-trailer to the construction site of slot 17, where the first residential building utilizing the Camus system was assembled. Raymond Camus developed a comprehensive process, from producing panels in the workshop and their transportation to the construction site to assembling them into buildings. Within just nine months, Raymond Camus’s firm succeeded in assembling the first residential building made from prefabricated panels. The construction efficiency quickly garnered a strong reputation for both Raymond Camus and his technology. Subsequently, he was commissioned to develop slot 21. His growing experience led to the construction of two more apartment blocks for the French railway company (SNCF – Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Français) and several single-family homes, further refining his techniques in both panel manufacturing and their technical design.
