DESIGN MIAMI.

For this 20th edition of DESIGN MIAMI, GALERIE PATRICK SEGUIN is showing a selection of furniture and lighting designed by JEAN ROYÈRE from the late 1940s to the early 1960s.

Jean Royère approached his work with great freedom. He designed pieces that were daring and refined, combining traditional craftsmanship with contemporary innovation. Inspired by the armillary spheres of the 16th century, the “Sphere” table is a perfect example of this approach. Four spherical feet in gold metal support a rectangular marble top, giving an impression of levitation. It was designed in 1939 and exhibited that same year at the Salon des Artistes Décorateurs in Paris; this model was made for a private commission around 1950.

As with the “Sphere” table, the pair of “Auxerre” chairs reflects the extraordinary sense of proportion and volume that Royère demonstrated throughout his career. This model features armrests subtly incorporated into an extension of its wrap-around backrest. Its sinusoidal lines also contrast with the rectangularity of the nest of tables, whose gold patinated metal legs support a delicate, partially mirrored glass top. The “Dents Grecques” pattern formed by the legs, skillfully worked into the table design, contributes to its air of refinement.

The names of Jean Royère’s creations often betray their organic and vegetal inspirations – for example the “Bouquet” lights, wall- or ceiling-mounted, are composed of metal ‘branches’, each of which ‘blossoms’ into a lampshade. Beneath the “Bouquet” hanging light, the console table in black-stained oak with its openwork top filters the light, projecting a subtle play of shadows.

The installation is completed by an extremely elegant semi-circular dressing table made in 1962 for a private commission, adorned with three illuminated mirrors and accompanied by a “Gazelle” stool, whose sycamore legs resemble the animal’s horns.

DESIGN MIAMI.
December 3-8, 2024
Convention Center Drive & 19th Street
Miami Beach, Florida, USA
Booth G 01

Our latest exclusive video, Jean Prouvé’s “Better Days” House, 1956

GALERIE PATRICK SEGUIN announces the release of an exclusive video on its YouTube channel, featuring the “Better Days” House, designed by JEAN PROUVÉ in 1956.

This stop-motion video, created during the set-up of the house, immerses you in the fascinating construction process of this demountable house. Each step is revealed, showcasing the ingenuity of Prouvé’s construction system.

The “Better Days” House, designed by Jean Prouvé, perfectly summed up the notion of the industrially produced detached dwelling—lasting, light, economical and comfortable—that he had been working on for almost twenty years. The project also illustrated the constructor’s reactivity. Faced with the urgency of the situation caused by the housing crisis, in just a few weeks he perfected a model combining his earlier experiments with an innovative building technique and the latest materials.

The construction approach was based on a concept devised with architect Maurice Silvy at Prouvé’s factory in Maxéville in 1952. On a dished concrete base was placed a prefabricated steel central unit housing the kitchen, bathroom and toilet; supporting a pressed steel beam, the unit constituted the substructure. The shell was made of thermoformed wood sandwich panels and the roof of aluminum slabs that also extended out to cover the porch. The public was as enthused by the idea as practicing architects, but this 57m² (613 sq ft) house that took seven hours to assemble was too revolutionary for its time: the official approval needed for industrialization was not granted, and only five were ever built.

For inquiries about this historic demountable architecture, please send us an email at info@patrickseguin.com.⁠

Watch the vidéo and subscribe to our channel to not miss anything!

6X9 DEMOUNTABLE HOUSE, 1944

In response to an order from the state, at the end of the War, JEAN PROUVÉ began designing temporary houses for the homeless in Lorraine and Franche-Comté.

Fine-tuning his already patented axial portal frame, he saw a quick, economical and adaptable solution as an urgent priority. The area of 6×6 meters laid down by the Ministry of Reconstruction and Town Planning, and later enlarged to 6×9 meters, was partitioned into three rooms immediately habitable on the day of assemblage. This meant that these country families did not have to move while building was going on.

Designed to be rapidly assembled on the sites of destroyed homes and, if need be, demounted and moved elsewhere, these veritable ʺarchitectural featsʺ were made up of light, prefabricated components of metal and wood. Steel, subject to strict quotas at the time, was reserved for the bent steel skeleton, into which were inserted simple, standardized wood panels. Jean Prouvé would later develop and reapply this constructive principle to durable and lasting reconstruction.