Streamline Moderne
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+ | [[Image:Trylon, Perisphere and Helicline (Samuel H. Gottscho).jpg|thumb|200px|The [[Trylon and Perisphere]], two [[Modernist architecture|modernistic structures]] at the [[1939 New York World's Fair|New York World's Fair of 1939-1940]]<br> | ||
+ | <small>Photo: [[Trylon, Perisphere and Helicline (Samuel H. Gottscho)]]</small>]] | ||
{{Template}} | {{Template}} | ||
'''Streamline Moderne''', sometimes referred to by either name alone, was a late branch of the [[Art Deco]] style. Its architectural style emphasized curving forms, long horizontal lines, and sometimes nautical elements (such as railings and porthole windows). It reached its height in 1937. | '''Streamline Moderne''', sometimes referred to by either name alone, was a late branch of the [[Art Deco]] style. Its architectural style emphasized curving forms, long horizontal lines, and sometimes nautical elements (such as railings and porthole windows). It reached its height in 1937. | ||
- | The style was the first to incorporate electric light into architectural structure. In the First Class dining room of the [[SS Normandie|SS ''Normandie'']], fitted out 1933 – 35, twelve tall pillars of [[Lalique]] glass and 38 columns lit from within illuminated the room. The Strand Palace Hotel foyer (1930), preserved from demolition by the [[Victoria and Albert Museum]] in 1969, marked one of the first uses of internally-lit architectural glass, and coincidentally was the first Moderne interior preserved in a museum. | + | The style was the first to incorporate electric light into architectural structure. In the First Class dining room of the [[SS Normandie|SS ''Normandie'']], fitted out 1933 – 35, twelve tall pillars of [[Lalique]] glass and 38 columns lit from within illuminated the room. The Strand Palace Hotel foyer (1930), preserved from demolition by the [[Victoria and Albert Museum]] in 1969, marked one of the first uses of internally-lit architectural glass, and coincidentally was the first Moderne interior preserved in a museum. |
+ | == Background == | ||
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+ | As the depression decade of the 1930s progressed, Americans saw a new aspect of the [[Art Deco]] style emerge in the marketplace: streamlining. The streamlining concept was first created by industrial designers who stripped [[Art Deco]] design of its ornament in favor of the aerodynamic pure-line concept of motion and speed developed from scientific thinking. Cylindrical forms and long horizontal windowing also may be influenced by [[constructivist architecture|constructivism]]. As a result an array of designers quickly ultra-modernized and streamlined the designs of everyday objects. Manufacturers of clocks, radios, telephones, cars, furniture and numerous other household appliances embraced the concept with open arms. | ||
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+ | The style was the first to incorporate electric light into architectural structure. In the First Class dining room of the [[SS Normandie|SS ''Normandie'']], fitted out 1933–35, twelve tall pillars of [[René Lalique|Lalique]] glass and 38 columns lit from within illuminated the room. The [[Strand Palace Hotel]] foyer (1930), preserved from demolition by the [[Victoria and Albert Museum]] during 1969, was one of the first uses of internally lit architectural glass, and coincidentally was the first Moderne interior preserved in a museum. | ||
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+ | The Streamline Moderne was both a reaction to Art Deco and a reflection of austere economic times. Gone was unnecessary ornament. Sharp angles were replaced with simple, aerodynamic curves. Exotic woods and stone were replaced with cement and glass. | ||
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+ | Art Deco and Streamline Moderne were not necessarily opposites. Streamline Moderne buildings with a few Deco elements were not uncommon but the prime movers behind streamline design ([[Raymond Loewy]], [[Walter Dorwin Teague]], [[Gilbert Rohde]], [[Norman Bel Geddes]]) all disliked Art Deco, seeing it as effete, falsely modern, essentially a fraud. | ||
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==Notable examples== | ==Notable examples== |
Revision as of 14:26, 3 April 2013
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Streamline Moderne, sometimes referred to by either name alone, was a late branch of the Art Deco style. Its architectural style emphasized curving forms, long horizontal lines, and sometimes nautical elements (such as railings and porthole windows). It reached its height in 1937.
The style was the first to incorporate electric light into architectural structure. In the First Class dining room of the SS Normandie, fitted out 1933 – 35, twelve tall pillars of Lalique glass and 38 columns lit from within illuminated the room. The Strand Palace Hotel foyer (1930), preserved from demolition by the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1969, marked one of the first uses of internally-lit architectural glass, and coincidentally was the first Moderne interior preserved in a museum.
Contents |
Background
As the depression decade of the 1930s progressed, Americans saw a new aspect of the Art Deco style emerge in the marketplace: streamlining. The streamlining concept was first created by industrial designers who stripped Art Deco design of its ornament in favor of the aerodynamic pure-line concept of motion and speed developed from scientific thinking. Cylindrical forms and long horizontal windowing also may be influenced by constructivism. As a result an array of designers quickly ultra-modernized and streamlined the designs of everyday objects. Manufacturers of clocks, radios, telephones, cars, furniture and numerous other household appliances embraced the concept with open arms.
The style was the first to incorporate electric light into architectural structure. In the First Class dining room of the SS Normandie, fitted out 1933–35, twelve tall pillars of Lalique glass and 38 columns lit from within illuminated the room. The Strand Palace Hotel foyer (1930), preserved from demolition by the Victoria and Albert Museum during 1969, was one of the first uses of internally lit architectural glass, and coincidentally was the first Moderne interior preserved in a museum.
The Streamline Moderne was both a reaction to Art Deco and a reflection of austere economic times. Gone was unnecessary ornament. Sharp angles were replaced with simple, aerodynamic curves. Exotic woods and stone were replaced with cement and glass.
Art Deco and Streamline Moderne were not necessarily opposites. Streamline Moderne buildings with a few Deco elements were not uncommon but the prime movers behind streamline design (Raymond Loewy, Walter Dorwin Teague, Gilbert Rohde, Norman Bel Geddes) all disliked Art Deco, seeing it as effete, falsely modern, essentially a fraud.
Notable examples
- 1926 - Long Beach Airport Main Terminal, Long Beach, California
- 1930 - Strand Palace Hotel, London. Foyer designed by Oliver P. Bernard
- 1931 - The Eaton's Seventh Floor (including the Eaton Auditorium and the Round Room restaurant) in Toronto, Canada, designed by Jacques Carlu, located in the former Eaton's department store.
- 1933 - Burnham Beeches in Sherbrooke, Victoria, Australia. Harry Norris architect.
- 1933- The Lawson "Zephyr" clock designed by Kem Weber for Lawson Time of Alhambra, CA.
- 1933 - Merle Norman Building, Santa Monica, California See also History of Santa Monica, California
- 1933-1940 - The interior of Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry, designed by Alfred Shaw
- 1934 - Chrysler Airflow, the first mass-market streamline automotive design
- 1935 - Pan Pacific Auditorium, Los Angeles, California
- 1935 - Edificio Internacional de Capitalización, Mexico City, Mexico
- 1935 - The Hindenburg, zeppelin passenger accommodations
- 1935 - The interior of Lansdowne House on Berkeley Square in Mayfair, London is redesigned and redecorated in the Art Moderne style and opens as the Lansdowne Club.
- 1936 - Minneapolis Armory, Minneapolis, Minnesota
- 1937 - Belgium Pavilion, at the Exposition Internationale, Paris
- 1937 - TAV Studios (Brenemen's Restaurant), Hollywood, California
- 1937 - Minerva (or Metro) Theatre and the Minerva Building, Potts Point, New South Wales, Australia
- 1937 - Bather's Building at San Francisco's Aquatic Park
- 1937 - Barnum Hall (High School auditorium), Santa Monica, California
- 1937 - Wan Chai Market, Wan Chai,Hong Kong
- 1938 - Mark Keppel High School, Alhambra, California
- 1939 - Marine Air Terminal, La Guardia Airport, New York (pictured)
- 1939 - New York World's Fair
- 1939 - Cardozo Hotel, Ocean Drive, South Beach, Miami Beach, Florida
- 1940 - Gabel Kuro jukebox designed by Brooks Stevens.
- 1940 - Greyhound Bus Station, Ann Arbor, Michigan
- 1941 - Avalon Hotel, Ocean Drive, South Beach, Miami Beach, Florida
- 1944 - Huntridge Theater, Las Vegas, Nevada
- 1947 - Sears Building, Santa Monica, California
- 1948 - Greyhound Bus Station, Cleveland, Ohio
- 1949 - Sault Memorial Gardens, Sault Sainte Marie, Ontario
Influences
Industrial and consumer product design
The style was applied to appliances such as electric clocks, sewing machines, small radio receivers and vacuum cleaner. These also employed developments in materials science including aluminum and bakelite.
Motion Pictures
- The buildings in Frank Capra's 1937 movie Lost Horizon, designed by Stephen Goosson
- The design of the "Emerald City" in the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz
See also
- Art Deco
- Streamline
- Raygun Gothic
- Googie architecture
- Century of Progress Chicago's 2nd World's Fair (1933-34)
- Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne (1937)
(1937 Paris Exposition)