Streamline Moderne

The streamline moderne, also simply called Streamlining Streamline was an offshoot style Art Deco which reached its peak late in the year 1937 . The style was characterized by the use of curved forms, long horizontal lines, and sometimes nautical elements such as railings and porthole windows.

The aerodynamic style emerged in the historical context of the crisis that occurred in the United States due to the depression of the late 1920s and early 1930s . In order to capture consumer interest and buyers, it appealed to a formal change of the style prevalent in the area of architecture and design . A chord formal change was proposed to the new world that was emerging. The new approach was the influence of futurism , glorifying speed and was based on technical and scientific research to obtain surfaces that offered lower drag for engineering applications.

Over the decade, a new aspect of Art Deco emerged in the United States, created by industrial designers who put aside the ornaments of style in favor of the concept of streamlines . The aerodynamics are applied in the most diverse fields of design and architecture, from homes, hotels, cars and even objects that did not require aerodynamic design and sharpener pencils. Industrial design became popular thanks to designers like Norman Bel Gedes. The style spread in the United States that became to be regarded as synonymous with American industrial design of the 1930s and 1940s.

In architecture, the aerodynamic style was the first to incorporate electric light in the architectural structure. The foyer of the Strand Palace Hotel (1930), saved from demolition of the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1969, marked one of the earliest uses of the light inside the architectural glass, and coincidentally was the first inside aerodynamic styling that is preserved in a museum. Although the style is principalemnte used in commercial buildings, some houses of this style. The Lydecker House in Los Angeles, built by Howard Lydecker , is an example of aerodynamic design in residential architecture.

Common Characteristics

Horizontal orientation
Rounded edges, corner windows and glass blocks
Glass brick
Window porthole
Iron Chrome
Walls smooth surface, usually stucco
Flat Roofs with a shot
Waves or horizontal lines on the walls
Muted colors: predominance of earth color, off white and beige paint as a base, and bright or dark colors to contrast trim

Notable examples
Airport Terminal Long Beach, California
Lockheed Vega

1926 – Main Terminal Long Beach Airport , Long Beach, California
1928 – Lockheed Vega , designed by John Knudsen Northrop . A small plane with an engine four-passenger, famous for it used by Amelia Earhart
1930 – Strand Palace Hotel , London : Foyer designed by Oliver P. Bernard
1930-1934 – Broadway Mansions , Shanghai , designed by B. Flazer, Palmer & Turner
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 department store Eaton’s
1931 – Napier ( New Zealand ), rebuilt in Art Deco style and Streamline Moderne after an earthquake
1933 – Burnham Beeches in Sherbrooke , Victoria , Australia . Architect Harry Norris
1933 – The Lawson “Zephyr” clock designed by Kem Weber for Lawson Time of Alhambra (California)
1933 – Merle Norman Building, Santa Monica (California)
1933 – Midland Hotel , Morecambe , England
1933-1940 – The interior of the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago , designed by Alfred Shaw

A Chrysler Airflow
The Hollywood Palladium
The Gerry Building

1934 – Chrysler Airflow , the first automobile design aerodynamic mass
1935 – Ford Building (San Diego) , Balboa Park
1935 – De La Warr Pavilion , Bexhill-on-Sea , England
1935 – Pan Pacific Auditorium , Los Angeles, California
1935 – International Capital Building , Mexico City , Mexico
1935 – The Hindenburg , passenger seats Zeppelin
1935 – The interior of Lansdowne House in Berkeley Square in Mayfair , London was redesigned and redecorated in Art Moderne style and opens as the Lansdowne Club.
1937 – Hall Belgian in the International Exhibition of Paris
1937 – TAV Studios (Brenemen’s Restaurant), Hollywood, California
1937 – Teatro Minerva (or Metro) and Minerva Building, Potts Point , Australia
1937 – lifeguard tower in San Francisco Aquatic Park
1937 – Barnum Hall (High School Auditorium), Santa Monica (California)
1937 – Marked Wan Chai , Wan Chai , Hong Kong
1937 – River Oaks Shopping Center, Houston (Texas)
1938 – Mark Keppel High School , Alhambra, California
1938 – The Normandie (now The Normandina), Mar del Plata , Argentina
1939 – Marine Air Terminal , La Guardia Airport , New York
1939 – Road Island Diner , Oakley (Utah)
1939 – World Expo 1939 New York
1939 – Cardozo Hotel , Ocean Drive , South Beach , Miami Beach
1940 – Rocola Gabel Kuro designed by Brooks Stevens
1940 – Greyhound Bus Terminal, Ann Arbor (Michigan)
1940 – Jai Alai Building, Taft Avenue, Manila , Philippines
1940 – Hollywood Palladium , Los Angeles, California
1940 – Station Union Pacific , Las Vegas (Nevada)
1941 – Avalon Hotel, Ocean Drive , South Beach , Miami Beach
1942 – Normandie Hotel in San Juan de Puerto Rico
1942 – Mercantile National Bank Building , Dallas
1944 – Huntridge Theater , Las Vegas , Nevada
1946 – Gerry Building , Los Angeles (California)
1947 – Sears Building, Santa Monica (California)
1948 – Greyhound Bus Station, Cleveland (Ohio)
1949 – Sault Memorial Gardens , Sault Ste Marie (Ontario)
1954 – Teatro Municipal de Poitiers