Jean Prouvé (1901 – 1984)

Jean Prouvé

Jean Prouvé was born in 1901 in Paris, France to his father Victor Prouvé, an artist who was a founding member of the Art Nouveau School in Nancy. In Nancy, Jean Prouvé apprenticed under a creative blacksmith between the years 1916 and 1919. Prouvé continued to apprentice metal working in Paris until 1921 under another metal worker, Szabo. Through this experience, Prouvé gained skills in metal working and eventually opened his own shop in Nancy 1923. He began by creating metal pieces and moved into metallic furniture design. In 1930, he helped found the Union des Artistes Modernes (UAM). In 1931, with the help of A. Schotte, Prouvé was able to purchase new machinery for metal working (opening Société des Ateliers Jean Prouvé), mass producing pieces and finishes including handles and for schools, and a chair and desk combination. He had the chance to meet Le Corbusier, Jean Jeanneret and Charlotte Perriand at the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in 1935. His work evolved into mass produced architecture, where he was commissioned to design huts for the French Army in 1939 and collapsable units for the homeless. Following the end of World War II, Prouvé was the mayor of Nancy. In 1947, Prouvé moved his factory to Maxéville. In 1949, he was commissioned to design prefabicated housing for French colonies of west and central Africa. After two years, this project was cancelled because it was not cost effective. During this time, Prouvé was also involved with Le Corbusier, where he designed floors, staircases and furniture for a show apartment in Le Corbusier's Unité d'habitation. Prouvé also worked with Charlotte Perriand during the 1950's. After selling his practices in the 1950's Prouvé worked for the Compagnie Industrielle de Matériel de Transport. Prouvé also taught at the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers (CNAM).

Jean Prouvé and Le Corbusier

Victor Prouvé was a great influence of Jean Prouvé, and despite their difference in styles (Victor - Art Nouveau & Jean - modernist), they both maintained a desire to create originality. Prouvé credited both his father and the Art Nouveau School in Nancy for his focus on bringing something new to the formalized art that existed. Prouvé was not influenced by history as his father was, but looked forward, believing that modernist design was based on what was not there. Neither he nor his father were in design to make money. Le Corbusier also greatly influenced Prouvé. Both men believed in practical housing, this belief arising from the two world wars, which lead to a housing crisis. One difference between the two was where there ideals lay: for Le Corbusier - in the theory, for Prouvé - in the process.

Citations

"Jean Prouvé" accessed November 10, 2012, http://www.jean-prouve-architect.com

"The Architect," accessed November 10, 2012, http://www.lamaisontropicale.com/www/

"On the Subject of Modern Mastery: Jean Prouvé, 1901 - 1984," accessed December 5, http://secretforts.blogspot.ca/2009/11/on-subject-of-modern-mastery-jean.html

O'Day, Kathleen. “Tropical or Colonial? A Reception History of Jean Prouvé's Prefabricated Houses For Africa.” (Thesis, Louisiana State University and Art College, 2009.)

"Fondation Le Corbusier," accessed December 10, 2012, http://www.fondationlecorbusier.fr/corbuweb/morpheus.aspx?sysId=13&IrisObjectId=4523&sysLanguage=fr-fr&itemPos=10&itemCount=13&sysParentId=51

Aluminum Français - Influence on Prefabrication Manufacturing

Meudon Houses

Following the end of World War II, Jean Prouvé was interested in capitalizing on the post war construction projects that would be commissioned by the government of France. He believed however, that these projects would be given to larger companies and not smaller shops such as his, Atelier de Jean Prouvé. He entered an agreement with Aluminum Français who had a strong government relationship. Aluminum Français bought 17% of Atelier Jean Prouvé. This agreement also benefited Prouvé's shop, because he could now afford to purchase new machinery with the capital from Aluminum Français. In contracts through Aluminum Français, Atelier de Jean Prouvé was forced to use more aluminum in the design. When working on the designs of projects such as Maison Tropicale, Prouvé's process came from pressures from Aluminum Français. The company wanted the shop to operate like an assembly line and wanted a greater focus on the individual components, not the overall concept. The production style of Maison Tropicale came as a result of external pressures and in 1953, Atelier de Jean Prouvé was sold and Prouvé no longer had to adhere to Aluminum Français in his designs and process of manufacturing.

O'Day, Kathleen. “Tropical or Colonial? A Reception History of Jean Prouvé's Prefabricated Houses For Africa.” (Thesis, Louisiana State University and Art College, 2009.)
"Arquitectura: Una casa en una semana," accessed December 8, 2012, http://noticias.arq.com.mx/Detalles/11323.html

Niger Geography

Niger is a West African country with the majority of its land is desert with savanna in the far south. Niger is one of the hottest countries in the world, with temperatures rarely dropping below 30°c. Agricultural problems within the country include reoccurring droughts and overgrazing which have greatly reduced the quality of the soil, resulting in erosion and desertification. The wildlife population across the country has been threatened because of poaching, habitat destruction, and lack of land. Niamey is the capital of Niger and is located in the southwest, just off the coast of the Niger River. It is home to just over one million people.

Economy

Typography

Aluckarta, "Niger Map", Mappery, mappery.com, July 23, 2011, accessed December 9, 2012
"Map of Niger", Bubl, bubl.ac.uk, accessed December 9, 2012
"Niger - Economic Activity", University of Texas Library, lib.utexas.edu, last updated November 30, 2012, accessed December 9, 2012
“The World Factbook- Niger”, Central Intelligence Agency, last updated November 23, 2012, accessed December 8, 2012, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ng.html

“Niger Profile”, BBC, June 28, 2012, accessed November 15, 2012, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13943662