Norman Foster and Renzo Piano invoke his name. For many architects he is a landmark - Jean Prouve, creator of the metal curtain wall, pioneer in its application and early initiator of industrialised building techniques. His unfailing ability to combine functional engineering achievements with artistic sensitivity commands recognition. The period covered in this latest volume is significant in many respects. The post-war years placed enormous demands on housing and school construction. In his Maxeville factory Prouve developed pre-fabricated housing, facade panelling, light filtering and other systems on a large scale. He was inspired by the works of the automobile and aeronautics industry, developing new applications for aluminium, which he presented in the 1954 Aluminium Centenary Pavilion. Moreover, Prouve's furnitures of this period have become valuable collectors' items, some of which are now being reissued under licence.

Jean Prouve (1901-1984) was one of the most renowned design engineers of the 20th century. This volume, the second in Birkhauser's 4-volume edition of Prouve's Complete Works, covers the period between 1934 and 1944, including such significant works as the "semi-metal" Chair no. 4 and its variations, which went into serial production from 1935 onwards, office furniture for the Parisian Electricity Supply Works and seating for the lecture hall of the Ecole des sciences politiques in Paris. In 1934 Prouve's workshop commenced production of entirely pre-fabricated sheet metal buildings such as the Flying Club at Buc. One of the triumphs of this period is the Maison du Peuple communal hall in Clichy, an outstanding monument of functionalism and a "hymn to metal and folded sheet." This volume also includes texts of previously unpublished conversations with Prouve about the Flying Club and Maison du Peuple.

Jean Prouve ranks amongst the most innovative engineers and designers of the 20th century. His influence on those who have followed him has been extensive, with the renowned architects Sir Norman Foster and Renzo Piano, and engineers such as Peter Rice acknowledging their debt to him. This selection of highlights provides an ideal introduction to the work of Jean Prouve and testimony to his importance for modern architecture and design. Professor Peter Sulzer, author of the Jean Prouve Complete Works edition published by Birkhauser, has gathered together Prouve's most notable buildings, including the Maison du Peuple in Clichy near Paris, one of the outstanding buildings in Functionalism, as well as examples of his exceptional furniture designs from the 1930s and 1940s . Subsequent volumes in the Complete Works edition will cover the years 1945-1984.