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From: Architexturez <interface.services@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
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Date: Sat, 26 May 2007 12:48:02 +0530
Architexturez wrote:
ref: http://mail.architexturez.net/+/In-Enaction/archive/msg00720.shtml
Tomorrow, the Maison Tropicale, a small aluminum-paneled house built in
1951 by Jean Prouvé, a French designer and the current court favorite of
well-heeled contemporary art and design collectors internationally, is
being opened to the public for preview in Long Island City. Christie’s,
the auction house, will offer it for sale on June 5. The presale
estimate is $4 million to $6 million.
Jean Prouvé (1901-84) was one of the revered figures in mid-20th-century
modernism. Le Corbusier referred to him as a constructeur, there being
no precise term for his combination of activities in the fields of
architecture and design. He ran his own factory workshop in France, from
which, in the aftermath of the second world war, he produced three
prototype prefabricated metal bungalows that were supposed to answer the
building needs of the French colonies. One went to Niamey in Niger, the
other two to Brazzaville in the Congo. The design was not immediately
popular with the French officials who were supposed to live and work in
them, so no more were made.
cont'd....
http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,,2088112,00.html