PARIS.- Since its opening in 1989 Galerie Patrick Seguin has been building a collection of Jean Prouvé demountable houses that is today the largest in the world. With 19 of these structures ranging from 172 to 2054 sq. ft., the gallery has worked strenuously to promote Jean Prouvé’s architecture through numerous exhibitions and fairs throughout the world, including at the MoMa in New York, DesignMiamiBasel/, the Venice Biennale, and the Pinacoteca Govanni e Marella Agnelli in Turin.

Accompanying its exhibitions, Galerie Patrick Seguin has also developed an editorial line of comprehensive publications and is currently releasing a set of 5 monographs dedicated to Jean Prouvé’s demountable architecture, illustrated with archival and contemporary photographs.

These 5 volumes are the first of 15 that will be released in 3 separate boxed sets over the course of 2015 and 2016.

The first 5 volume boxed set includes :
Vol. 1 - Jean Prouvé, 6x6 Demountable House, 80 pages, english/french
Vol. 2 - Jean Prouvé, 8x8 Demountable House, 80 pages, english/french
Vol. 3 - Jean Prouvé, BCC Demountable House, 80 pages, english/french
Vol. 4 - Jean Prouvé, Filling Station, 80 pages, english/french
Vol. 5 - Jean Prouvé, Ferembal Demountable House. Adaptation Jean Nouvel, 80 pages, english/french

Each volume can also be purchased separately for 32€ / 45$

The first 5 volumes will be released on March 3rd, 2015 at Gagosian Gallery New York at the occasion of the opening of the exhibition « Chamberlain-Prouvé » (February 27th - April 4th).

For this show, Gagosian Gallery and Galerie Patrick Seguin bring together the extraordinary sculptures of John Chamberlain and, for the first time in New York, 2 iconic demountable houses: Jean Prouvé’s Demountable Ferembal House, 1948, adapted by Jean Nouvel and Jean Prouvé’s School Complex of Villejuif, 1956.

6x6 Demountable House – In response to an order from the state at the end of the War, Jean Prouvé began designing temporary houses for the homeless in Lorraine and Franche-Comté in eastern France. Fine-tuning his already patented axial portal frame, he saw a quick, economical and adaptable solution as an urgent priority, in a 6x6 meter module. The components were shipped directly to bomb-devastated villages, where they could be assembled on site in a day by two people.

8x8 Demountable House – Continuing his research into demountable houses, in 1938 Jean Prouvé came up with the structural principle of the axial portal frame, which he patented the following year. He decided to apply it to a module 8 meters (26.2 ft) wide to adapt the construction methods to family housing in an area of 64 square meters (689 square feet) per module. The load-bearing structure that included improvements to provide greater comfort was made entirely of bent sheet steel.

BCC Demountable House – Jean Prouvé and Pierre Jeanneret’s BCC Demountable House fits in the series of projects initiated in 1939 and centered on the construction principle of the axial portal frame, created by Prouvé in 1938. Only a few examples of this small building, made entirely of wood, were completed between 1941 and 1943 during extreme wartime conditions. Prouvé and Jeanneret were challenged to come up with a solution to the lack of steel due to the war, and the use of wood allowed for the creation of quality homes that were temporary and comfortable.

Filling Station – In 1969 energy provider Total began implementing a mass-production policy for its gas stations including the large ones on France’s freeways as well as the smaller roadside units. To carry out this project, the company called in Jean Prouvé, who had already amply demonstrated his skills in the field of prefabrication. Using a radiating central-plan structure, this light, and rapidly, easily assembled building embodies the principles of prefabricated architecture.

Ferembal Demountable House – The Ateliers Jean Prouvé built the structure housing the Ferembal offices in Nancy in 1948. Only a few of prototypes were ever made. Rescued from the demolition of the Ferembal site in 1983, this striking example is another eloquent illustration of the approach’s technical and functional virtues as well as its adaptability.

At the request of the Galerie Patrick Seguin, in 2010, architect Jean Nouvel undertook a thoroughgoing «adaptation» of the Prouvé building, demonstrating the enduring relevance of the method.