This week, legendary French designer Jean Prouvé (1901-1984) makes another significant reappearance as part of renowned architect Richard Roger’s contemporary reinterpretation of the 1944 “6x 6 Demountable House”—Prouvé’s famed modular wood and metal home. In this reinterpretation, Rogers, founder of the architecture firm Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners (RSHP), transforms the function of Prouvé’s home from a portable housing solution into a chic and autonomous living retreat. Rogers new 6 x 6 rendition will be unveiled at Design Miami/ Basel and is presented by French interior design specialists, Patrick Seguin Gallery.
The innovative flexibility and portability of Prouvé’s “Demountable House” has inspired a number of recent reinterpretations, recalling Bally’s Triangle Walks project that recreated Prouvé’s home to scale, in collaboration with work by contemporary artists KOLKOZ and Zak Kitnick, at the Raleigh Hotel during the 2014 Art Basel Miami Beach art fair. Rogers, known for his high-tech architecture, takes a modernizing approach to Prouvé’s design by using his signature adaptable living spaces as the foundation upon which to add facilities such as hot water, electricity, and a satellite bathroom and kitchen. Yet, with these new additions Rogers maintains Prouvé’s economical and ecological approach to design—characteristics that define the late French designers oeuvre—and as such the serviced home reflects Prouvé’s ideals for socially motivated innovation.
This is not all we will see of Prouvé at Art Basel. The 1969 work “Total Filling Station” is being featured as part of “At Large,” a DesignMiami/ Basel featured section curated by hotelier André Balazs. In addition, Patrick Seguin Gallery has released a set of five English/French monographs dedicated to Prouvé’s demountable architecture available for purchase via D.A.P. and Distribution Interart. The gallery owns the largest collection of Prouvé’s demountable houses, and plans to release ten more editions as part of three box sets throughout 2016.
