Description
Jean Prouve
Prefabrication: Structures and Elements
Edited by Benedikt Huber & Jean-Claude Steinegger
The results of Jean Prouve’s fifty years of patient research into new forms of architecture are represented in this book. From his experience working in a welder’s workshop, Jean Prouve learned to appreciate the basic nature of steel and its adaptability. It is remarkable that from the very first all the components in his buildings were perfectly coordinated: light-weight structures, curtain walls, dismantable panels, principles that up to this time had only been applied to the automobile and aviation industries. Subsequently he explored variations on this theme while remaining aware of new technical discoveries that confirmed his style while at the same time simplifying it. Creativity does not lie for him in an abstract vision but in a new assessment of the problems of mass dwelling, schools, and furniture. He solves new problems within the context of modern technology and has achieved a leading place among those who have revolutionized our present-day environment.
This book is devoted to industrialized architecture, offering a thesis as well as a testament to the work of an architect. Jean Prouve believes that the architect must be the pivot of a new construction industry. He must be in full charge of an organization, building must be the work of a team that links together the designer and the executor, and this team must be an essential component of an industry. This book allows us to trace the evolution of this idea, which has its roots in the craftsman tradition of the past, and the many examples shown here bear out this basic premise.
As with all pioneers, Jean Prouve had to demonstrate considerable courage and tenacity before his ideas could be put into operation. His industrial partners did not immediately appreciate the great potential of his structural components and rejected forms they did not understand. Although the greater part of his creations, which have been conceived for mass production, remain at the prototype stage today, their validity has not lessened.
This book seeks to show the path towards a new architecture. It is no mere documentation. Its goal is the future of the profession.
Jean Prouve Prefabrication: Structures and Elements, Benedikt Huber & Jean-Claude Steinegger, Pall Mall, 1971
Hardcover. Dust jacket shows some slight wear to the edges. Book cover is tanned slightly. Minor spotting to text block. Internally clean, a tight copy. Very good condition.
