ART DECO ARCHITECTURE

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE 2
ART DECO
• Art Deco-Visual arts and architecture style
of 1920s
• also called Style moderne
• Started in France just before World War I
• Reached western Europe and the US in
1930s
• Name lifted from an international exhibit
held in Paris, France in 1925 - Exposition
Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et
Industriels Modernes
ART DECO ARCHITECTURE
INFLUENCES
• influences on Art Deco were Art
Nouveau, the Bauhaus, Cubism, and
Serge Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes.
• Decorative ideas came from Egyptian
and early classical sources as well as
from nature.
• Characteristic motifs included nude
female figures, animals, foliage, and
sun rays, all in conventionalized forms.
ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER
 WHAT INFUENCED ART DECO?
Art Deco was influenced by the:
1. bold geometric forms of Cubism
2. bright colors of Fauvism
3. Egyptian Architecture
4. Metallic
5. Ziggurat termination
6. Stylized
7. Sunburst motif
8. Chevron, zigzag motif
DECORATIVE OR STREAMLINED ARCHITECTURAL ELEMENTS

TWO MAIN PHASES:

1. At first it was a decorative element,
adorning buildings with two dimensional
flat representations of the human form,
flowers, animals, the geometric and
abstract shapes taken from cubism

2. In the 1930s came the more curvi-linear

asymmetric streamlined designs which
were used for more domestic types of
architecture.
EMPIRE STATE BUILDING
Chrysler Building
Architectural Character
• Designed by Architect William van Allen
• completed in 1930, when, at 1,046 feet, it was
briefly the tallest building in the world
• The distinctive steel spire is embellished with
sunburst motifs and eagle gargoyles
• sunburst-patterned stainless steel spire remains
one of the most striking features
• The decorative scheme of the facade and interior
is largely geometric
The Delano
Architectural Character

• the Delano, a popular hotel built in

1947 by architect Robert
Swartburg and renovated in 1995
by Philippe Starck
• Found in Miami’s South Beach
Eastern Columbia Building
ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER

• Designed by Architect Claud

Beelman
• Located in downtown Los Angeles,
the 1930 building features a
striking turquoise terra-cotta
exterior.
Guardian Building
Architectural Character

• Designed by Wirt C. Rowland and

completed in 1929.
• The interior and exterior include
an abundance of elaborate period
details, such as mosaics, murals,
and stained glass.
• Nicknamed the Cathedral of
Finance
STREAMLINE MODERNE ART
DECO
an international style of ART DECO
architecture and design that emerged in
the 1930s. It was inspired
by aerodynamic design. Streamline
architecture emphasized
• curving forms
• long horizontal lines, and
• sometimes nautical elements.

Inspired by ocean liner style of ship

style
STREAMLINE MODERNE ART DECO
Characteristics
• Round corners
• Port hole windows
• Glass blocks
• Flat roof
• Stucco in pastel colors
• Cubism
• Horizontal elements