The Natural Progression - Streamline Moderne

From the movement of Art Deco in the 20’s/30’s, a sub-genre emerged in the form of Streamline Moderne. In the midst of the Wall Street crash in 1929, the companies that found themselves still left standing felt a rise in competition amongst other companies. The market was undoubtedly saturated, and manufacturers were left with no choice but to make their product all the more distinguishable from the next in line. At this time, though seeking a sense of distinction and individuality, manufacturers recruited designers who were all travelling down the same design pathway: Streamline Moderne. It is said that this form of architecture was sourced from the Bauhaus movement in Germany. Bauhaus is an expression in German, which translates to House for Building. In the year 1919, the German economy was in the midst of collapsing as a result of the First World War. Walter Gropius, an architect, was selected to head a new institution whose aim was to aid in rebuilding Germany and to help form a new social order. Named Bauhaus, the institution decided on the building of new social housing for workers. The housing was to be “rational”, with the Bauhaus architects rejecting ornamentation and architectural details such as eaves, cornices, and decoration. As seen above to the right, the architects aimed for classical architecture, taking buildings back to their purest form. The building shapes orientated largely around the use of curves and cones, keeping architecture simple, clean, and fit for purpose. This style, understandably, spread in popularity on a global scale, soon hitting America and Britain.

The Bauhaus movement provided a foundation for Streamline Moderne to build upon - no pun intended. 

 Streamline Moderne altered slightly from the Bauhaus movement, as it took a more aerodynamic approach to the structure of each object it touched. Objects influenced by this movement stood out hugely at this time, through characteristics such as horizontal orientation, rounded edges to the structure, the use of chrome, notably smooth exterior wall surfaces were found within architecture, which were often formed by a smooth plaster finish called Stucco. The use of contrasting colours within the architecture was also a contributing factor towards how boldly Streamline Moderne buildings stood out; base colours used on the buildings were often very light, earth-like tones. Crisp, luminous whites were no longer seen, as the base colour of the buildings was often very subdued and calm. The trim colours of the buildings were often darker and sometimes even bright, reflective chrome was used in order to contrast against the placid base.