NEW YORK.- In last night's auction Jean Prouvé’s Prototype Maison Tropicale and Works by Jean Prouvé, Charlotte Perriand, Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret from the Collection of Eric Touchaleaume held at Christie's in New York, Jean Prouvé’s visionary pre-fabricated construction, a Prototype Maison Tropicale, sold for $4,968,000. It was bought by hotelier Andre Balazs, who owns Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles, among other properties including The Mercer in New York and The Raleigh in Miami.

One of only three ever produced by the legendary French designer, this industrially produced Prototype Tropical House was designed and manufactured for Brazzaville, West Africa, and is one the most striking and sophisticated of all his architectural achievements and is exemplary of his oeuvre.

The Christie's New York 20th Century Decorative Art & Design week concludes tonight.