[Expert Interview] Living in the Prouvé House: A Unique Perspective on Architecture and History

The tenant of the Prouvé house: “I did not believe it when I was offered to live there”

The City of Nancy bought the house after Prouvé’s death in 1984. The idea was to bring it to life. The house was listed in 1987 and “was dormant for 10 years. It was rehabilitated in 1997. The Friends of Jean Prouvé association wanted it to remain a house,” explains Catherine Coley. Luc Bonaccini, an architect by training who works at CAUE 54 (council for architecture, town planning and the environment) 54, is the third tenant, “since December 2005. I knew it before, I visited it the first time with Agnès Caillaud who was ABF (architect of the buildings of France). I couldn’t believe it when I was offered to live there,” he confides in the large living room.

Moreover, he agreed to open it to the public via the Nancy Fine Arts Museum, “from June to September with guides on Saturdays. There are also quite a few requests from the school of architecture and there are often people who come”, like that. “The people of Nancy have appropriated this house”, especially since 2001 and the centenary of the birth of Prouvé and also 2012, the year of a great commemoration. So what’s the good side of living in an exceptional house like this? “If you like being isolated, it’s perfect. I like it a lot and it is very practical » And the constraint? “It’s hard to live with compared to the winters. The winters of 2007 and 2009 were terrible. You see, there are a lot of plaids and blankets all over the place… And then, once it’s a heat wave, the house is very hot”

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