Jean Prouvé

Jean Prouvé (1901-1984)

Jean Prouve in front of the characteristic porthole windows. (Source)

Prouvé was a French modernist, and believed strongly in creating a new world with industrial materials and processes. In particular, he aimed to mass-produce affordable designer objects and homes. He began his career as an iron worker when he was fifteen. He assisted Le Corbusier and other modernist architects through to the late 1920s. In 1924 he opened his very own workshop in the town of Nancy, which he later transformed into a design studio. After five years of furniture design for universities, hospitals, lecture halls, and various other public buildings, he returned to a more engineered architecture. Over the next ten years, his ties with the government deepened as he designed prefabricated barracks for the French army, emergency refugee housings, and even became the mayor of Nancy for a brief time. With an expansion and relocation of his workshop, Prouvé had all the tools required for designing La Maison Tropicale: an extensive technical foundation, experience in designing prefabricated modular buildings, and a strong relationship with the government.

-Clara Walker

Information Citation:

"Jean Prouve: La Masin Tropicale, The House, The Architect, The Exhibition".
http://lamaisontropicale.com/www/
(accessed January 9 1010).

Image Source:

"Prouve" (image). Available from: A Few Items of Interest

http://www.maritimequest.com/warship_directory/france/aircraft_carriers/charles_de_gaulle_r91/fs_charles_de_gaulle_general_de_gaulle.htm

(accessed January 5 2010).