Get Streamlined!

I've got Streamline Fever. No, it's not accompanied by a cough or sore throat, but it might be contagious once you see the things that I caught it from:

The clock and far right chair are by an architect and industrial designer by the name of K.E.M. Weber. He was from Germany originally, but ended up in the United States, because he was stranded here at the outbreak of World War I while working on the German pavilion for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition. He stayed in California and made his mark on American Modernism by designing such streamlined icons as the "Airline" chair pictured above, the "Zephyr" clock for the Lawson Company, and architectural commissions such as the Burbank Walt Disney Studios.

The desk and chair in the center is by Frank Lloyd Wright, designed for the S.C. Johnson Wax Administration Building in Racine, Wisconsin. Built in 1939, it is an architectural tour de force and one of the most amazing spaces in the world. Using over 200 types of curved bricks, the building is a streamlined marvel. The entire design, from the carport, to the entry, to the great workroom, to the  furniture is completely integrated and unified. The desk pictured above was designed by Wright to emulate the three different levels of the building that it inhabits. The Great Workroom is populated with these uniquely designed work desks. When combined with the giant concrete "lily pads" that soar above them, the feeling experienced is not of being in an office building, but more like being in a cathedral. The PrairieMod Squad had a chance to visit the Johnson Administration Building recently and we can tell you that it is not to be missed.

So now that I'm fully in the grip of Streamline Fever, I'm reading up on the subject with books such as American Streamlined Design: The World of Tomorrow and American Modern, 1925-1940: Design For A New Age. If anyone else has suggestions for books to read or places to visit on the subject, let us know! As we absorb more about this aspect of Modernism, we'll let you know the best ways to streamline your homes.

Images courtesy of Rago Arts, Cassina and Sothebys

Comments

[Pete]

My brother collected antique radios for years. He has some wonderful examples that would fit in perfectly with your Streamline Fever motif.

Great post. Thank you.

Pete