Paul Nelson (1895-1979) followed the same architectural education as Oscar Nitzchke (1900-1991). They studied fine arts in Paris, then following the advice of Le Corbusier entered the workshop of the Palais de bois, directed by Auguste Perret. Later the two architects emancipated themselves from Perret’s teachings. Paul Nelson, very inspired by the precepts of Buckminster Fuller, gradually abandoned orthogonal rigor and moved towards another form of standardization. The project of the suspended house (1936-1938) made up of a transparent metal envelope wanted in this sense to show the advantages of the metal construction and the steel frame. Thereafter Nitzchke and Nelson will have the same approach to raise the architecture of international style between France and the United States.
In 1937 the two architects who had joined forces with Frantz Jourdain (1847-1935) unveiled the project of the Palais de la Découverte. The group is made up of French architects by adoption and are nourished by a diverse and evolving architectural culture. The designed project is thus at the antipodes of their modern teaching which they followed with Perret and Le Corbusier. The project of the competition for the Palais de la Découverte at the Grand Palais was dedicated to the 1937 Paris Universal Exhibition.