Jean Prouvé

France

Person

Designer

Born 8 April 1901 Paris, France Died 23 March 1984 Nancy, France Jean Prouvé apprenticed with metalsmiths in Paris from 1916 to 1921 and, after military service, opened his own workshop in Nancy in 1924, producing wrought-iron grilles before turning to construction elements such as mechanical windows and doors. In 1929 he designed his first sheet-steel furniture, including the Chaise pliante, and co-founded the Union des artistes modernes (UAM). With the establishment of Ateliers Jean Prouvé in 1931, he developed the industrial production of steel furniture and building components, supplying metal elements for projects by Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, and others. His major works included the Roland-Garros aviation club building in Buc and a wide range of steel and aluminium buildings and furniture manufactured in Maxéville from 1947 onward. Following the end of the German occupation, he served as mayor of Nancy. From 1956 he worked in Paris as an independent engineer and designer, headed the construction department of the Compagnie industrielle de matériel de transport, and taught applied art at the Conservatoire national des arts et métiers until 1970. In 1971 he chaired the jury for the new Centre Pompidou building. In 1981 he received the Erasmus Prize for industrial design.