Jean Prouvé (1901-1984) was a French metal worker and pioneering architect. He played a major role in the development of systems of mass production in post-war modernism. He began designing in 1924 after working in metallurgy and built his own factory in 1945 in Maxéville. Prouvé taught at the Conservatoire National des Arts et Matières and was elected a member of the Academy of Architecture in 1972. He built the Musée des Beaux Arts du Havre from 1951 to 1962.