Jean Prouvé’s 6×9 demountable house at Art Basel Paris – Set-up

As part of the Art Basel Paris public program,GALERIE PATRICK SEGUIN is showing a JEAN PROUVÉ 6×9 demountable house on Avenue Winston Churchill, in front of the Grand Palais.

This stop-motion video, filmed during the two-day assembly of the house in the heart of Paris, highlights the fascinating construction process of this demountable architecture, designed in 1944 to be rapidly assembled and, if needed, demounted and moved elsewhere.

Free of charge and open to all, a visit to the 6×9 demountable house is an opportunity to observe the ingenuity of Prouvé’s construction system, deployed here using two portal frames around which the living spaces inside the pavilion are organized.

The 54m2 demountable house is furnished with a fine selection of Jean Prouvé furniture.

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ART BASEL – PUBLIC PROGRAM

As part of the Art Basel Paris public program, GALERIE PATRICK SEGUIN is showing JEAN PROUVÉ’s 6×9 demountable house (1944) on Avenue Winston Churchill, in front of the Grand Palais.

In response to an order from the government at the end of the War, Jean Prouvé designed temporary houses for those who had been made homeless in Lorraine and Franche-Comté. Fine-tuning the axial portal frame system that he had patented in 1939, he met the emergency situation with a quick, economical and adaptable solution. The surface area, initially set at 36 m² by the Ministry of Reconstruction, was enlarged to 54 m² and made immediately habitable on the day of assembly. This solution meant that the local residents did not have to move away while their homes were being rebuilt.

Designed to be assembled rapidly and, if need be, demounted and moved elsewhere, these “architectural feats” were made up of light, prefabricated components of metal and wood. As steel was then in short supply, it was reserved for the bent sheet frame, into which standardized wood panels were inserted.

This 54m2 demountable construction will be furnished with a selection of furniture and lighting by Jean Prouvé, Charlotte Perriand and Le Corbusier.

Free of charge and open to all, a visit to the 6×9 demountable house is an opportunity to observe the ingenuity of Prouvé’s construction system, deployed here using two portal frames around which the living spaces are organized.

For this occasion, the gallery has designed posters showcasing Prouvé’s constructional philosophy.

Come and get yours!

ART BASEL – PUBLIC PROGRAM
October 16-20, 2024
Avenue Winston Churchill, 75008 Paris

DESIGN MIAMI.PARIS

During DESIGN MIAMI. Paris, GALERIE PATRICK SEGUIN will exhibit a selection of iconic chairs and armchairs by JEAN PROUVÉ. Spanning more than twenty years of design, this thematic show will highlight the various typologies of seating designed by the constructor during his career.

From the creation of his first chairs in 1934, Jean Prouvé never stopped adjusting, improving and adapting his seating designs in line with changing requirements and technical innovations.

In 1947, based on studies conducted during the War, he presented one of the first examples of “kit” furniture. The CB 22 chair, which is made up of two solid wood side/leg pieces held together by a pair of threaded rods housed in metal tubes, was designed for the Meubles de France competition. Fully demountable, this model is a perfect illustration of Jean Prouvé’s “constructive thinking”, rooted in a logic that is rational and functional.
Designed in 1950, the iconic Métropole chair embodies the fruits of his research into the design of a chair that was both light and robust. To achieve this, he combined rear legs in bent steel “of uniform strength” to support the backrest, with narrower, tubular front legs supporting the seat.

These innovations also included the design of seating for export. In 1951, in the context of post-War change and reconstruction, Air France set out to conquer air travel and opened a flight between Paris and Brazzaville (Congo Republic). In a bid for modernity, the company commissioned Jean Prouvé and Charlotte Perriand to design the interiors of the residence housing its expatriate staff members.
With its simple curving lines, the Tropique no. 351 armchair is characterized by its steel and aluminum tube structure covered in cotton canvas.
The Cafétéria no. 300 chair, which was produced in several different variants, shows its demountable nature by leaving the assembly details deliberately visible.

Alongside his designs for the domestic market, Jean Prouvé developed other types of seating, specially designed for offices and public institutions. The Direction no. 352 chair, and its swivel version, the Direction no. 353, both provide remarkably comfortable seating. While the static model sits on a metal frame with tapered rear legs, the swivel version is characterized by a central base with cross-shaped foot in diamond-embossed aluminum sheet.

DESIGN MIAMI. PARIS
October 15 – 20, 2024
Hôtel de Maisons
51 rue de l’Université, 75007, Paris
Room 1