The Nancy, France home of French designer Jean Prouvé is the highlight of the “Tribute to Jean Prouvé," which runs through Oct. 28.
The home, now known as Maison Jean Prouvé, is a model of rationalist ingenuity. It sits on a plot of land on the northern outskirts of Nancy on a wooded hill, which was purchased for relatively cheap because the hill was considered too steep to build on.
The long, skinny, single story home was made predominately from prefabricated compenents from Prouvé's factory, which he had just lost control of in 1952. With the help of his children, the home was completed in 1954.
It peeps out behind trees and features tiny bedrooms that resemble ship cabins. The living room's glass wall gives panoramic views of Nancy.
The house now belongs to the City of Nancy, which rents it out to an architect and his family on the condition that visitors may pass through at certain times. It offers valuable insight to the life of one of the 20th century's most influential designers.
The tribute to Prouvé includes the opening of permanent galleries devoted to Prouvé’s work at the Musée des beaux-arts and Musée de l’Histoire du Fer, an exhibition of his ironwork at Musée de l’École de Nancy, an analysis of his impact on the city during and after World War II at Musée Lorrain and the installation of one of the prefabricated Maisons Tropicales he designed for use in Africa at Musée des beaux-arts.
Prouvé practically had creativity running through his veins, born to an artist father an pianist mother. By the 1930s, his workshop was manufacturing furniture and architectural compenents for schools, factories and other buildings, and during World War II, he developed a barrack unit that could be assembled in three hours under German occupation. He later joined the French resistance and was appointed mayor of Nancy after the war before returning to manufacturing.
Source: The New York Times
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