Take a virtual tour of 5 Jean Prouvé demountable houses reassembled in South of France in the middle of a forest of cork oak trees!

JEAN PROUVÉ came to architecture indirectly: driven by his creative spirit to come up with technically innovative components, and aided by the faith a number of architects had in him, he quickly moved into designing whole buildings and honing new construction procedures. The virtues he stressed -lightness, mobility and demountability- enabled him to respond to the post-war emergency housing programs with a view to producing permanent accommodations.

6×6 and 6×9 demountable houses, 1944
At the end of WWII, the Ministry of Reconstruction commissioned Jean Prouvé to design moveable pavilions as temporary housing for those who had lost their homes in eastern France. The area of 6×6 meter laid down by the Ministry of Reconstruction, and later enlarged to 6×9 meter, was partitioned into three rooms immediately habitable on the day of assemblage.

8×8 demountable house, 1945
In 1945 Jean Prouvé considerably improved the basic principle of his war homeless housing and developed an 8×8 meter house -which axial portal frame allowed all sort of variations- based on a 4 meter grid adapted to the capacity of the press at Maxéville. Only two prototypes were made.

Maxéville Design Office, 1948
Intended as a demonstration model that would convince the public of the virtues of prefabricated housing, this semi-metal house was a copybook piece, however it failed to find the success that had been hoped for. This example was set up at the Maxéville plant, where it became the Ateliers Jean Prouvé Design Office.

Rare insight into the philosophy developed by JEAN PROUVÉ through a series of 9 episodes on architecture. Each episode will be dedicated to a specific topic. The episode will be posted on our instagram account from Monday, 14th to Wednesday, 16th June.

This reading table designed by PIERRE JEANNERET was intended for the Legislative Assembly and the University of Punjab library in Chandigarh, India.

Commissionned by Nehru to construct the new capital of the Punjab region when India gained independence in 1947, LE CORBUSIER designed a project that would illustrate the country’s bright future. Pierre Jeanneret, Le Corbusier’s cousin and lifelong collaborator, was entrusted the designing of most of the furniture of the city.

Jeanneret opted for readily available materials, with an emphasis on the different local spieces of wood -here teak- rot-resistant and perfectly adapted to the vicissitude of the climate. The large table top rests on two solid ‘‘angle’’ typeside legs while the lightning is provided by two central reflectors in folded sheet metal, mounted on tubes of lacquered steel. A central slab in frosted glass separates both sides and provides more privacy to readers.

The table can with ease accomodate up to six seats. This elegant yet sturdy model is typical of Jeanneret’s style.

Derived from the prewar prototype, a metal version of the dining table base was finalized in 1951. It originated from dining room furniture that were given the “Meubles de France” award in 1947.

The model was demountable and delivered in kit form with assembly instructions, as evidenced by the protrusion of the cap-ends where the crossmember frame meets the brace connecting the bent steel legs. The base was attached to the crosspieces of the upper frame with brackets and screws.

The piece gave rise to several variants such as the Tropique one that was designed for Air France Congo in Brazzaville (Africa).

For the first edition of FIAC Online Viewing Rooms, GALERIE PATRICK SEGUIN will present a fine selection of works by JEAN PROUVÉ, PIERRE JEANNERET, CHARLOTTE PERRIAND, LE CORBUSIER and JEAN ROYÈRE, prominent figures in the history of 20th century design.

Jean Prouvé, with a pioneering approach to production based on a “constructional philosophy” that applied the same principles to furniture and architecture alike, created timeless works that stood out through their unashamed esthetic. His on going concern with standardization and the modernity of his approach are reflected in the refined Direction Office chair (1951) and Guéridon Haut (1948) on display.

Selected pieces by Jeanneret and Le Corbusier from the landmark project of Chandigarh in India will also be on view. Commissioned by Nehru to construct Chandigarh — the new capital of the Punjab region — when India gained independence in 1947, Le Corbusier designed a project that would illustrate the country’s bright future. Pierre Jeanneret, Le Corbusier’s cousin and lifelong collaborator, was entrusted the designing of most of the furniture of the city. Each piece was intended for a specific place and use, with close attention to the symbolic context and were made in local materials. The Advocate chairs (ca. 1955–56) in teak and hide upholstery for instance were intended for the High Court. Thus the furnishings provide a clear, immediate image of authority and hierarchy.

Freeing herself from conventional aesthetics, Perriand soon turned to working with wood. Her four-year stay in Japan was instrumental in the development of her practice, but it was rather after the War that she developed her own conception of housing to the full, achieving a synthesis of the traditional and the industrial. Two of her most impressive creations, namely the Desk (1952) in pitch pine and the iconic Tokyo bench (1954) that was inspired by traditional Japanese design, will illustrate the refinement of her functional yet elegant pieces in wood.

In Jean Royère’s design vocabulary, simple wavy lines of metal tubing can turn into a light evocative of a luxuriant bouquet such as with the impressive 10-branched wall light (1939) on view. Royère facetiously plays with the floral motif, that quickly becomes the source of an entire array of organic shapes. A great liberty and playfulness exude from this exquisite piece that illustrate themes dear to the decorator: the vegetal and the imaginative realms.