Jean Prouvé was born in Paris in the year 1901. He completed an apprenticeship as ornamental blacksmith and opened his own workshop in Nancy, France, by 1924.There he created numerous designs, for which Jean Prouvé is still known today.
One of his most famous designs is the Standard Chair. The tables Guéridon, Trapèze and Solvay prove his autodidactic talent for construction. Jean Prouvé was in contact with Le Corbusier and Pierre Chareau, with whom he would swap ideas about innovative design.
His workshop grew into an industrial design factory with more than 200 employees. After disputes with stockholders Prouvé decided to leave his company in 1953. Henceforth, he worked as a design engineer on important building projects in Paris.
As a juror he was able to shape the direction of modern architecture: Jean Prouvé actively supported Richard Rogers and Renzo Piano in 1971, whose bold, technology-oriented façade won the competition for the Centre Pompidou.
Jean Prouvé’s impressive repertoire included lighting as well as furniture and even entire houses. The city of Paris presented him with an architectural award in 1982. The designer died in Nancy in the year 1984. Since 2002 Vitra has been selling Jean Prouvé’s designs as re-editions.
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