Los Angeles, 1949. In the hills of Pacific Palisades, Charles and Ray Eames complete their Case Study House #8, an architectural manifesto of postwar America. Steel, glass, and vibrant colors assemble into a lightweight structure open to the California landscape. While Europe laboriously rebuilds and the Bauhaus dissolves into emigration, America invents a new aesthetic…
Brutalism, an emblematic architectural movement of the second half of the 20th century, continues to fascinate and divide nearly sixty years after its first stirrings. Characterized by the massive use of raw concrete and imposing geometric forms, this architectural style embodies both post-war social utopias and a radical aesthetic that still marks our urban landscapes…
Discover the publishers who shaped the art of contemporary lighting From Italian legends to eccentric visionaries, this guide presents the houses that transform light into works of art. Each brand possesses its unique DNA, history, and contribution to lighting design evolution. The Italian Legends Italy revolutionized lighting design in the 1950s-60s, transforming the simple bulb…
Arne Jacobsen: The History of Danish Design In the hushed lobby of Copenhagen’s SAS Royal Hotel in 1960, a silent revolution takes place. Travelers discover for the first time furniture with unprecedented organic forms, sculpted like protective cocoons in the bustle of the modern world. These revolutionary creations bear the signature of Arne Jacobsen (1902-1971),…
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, 1932. While the Great Depression paralyzes America and Streamline Moderne begins transforming the American industrial landscape, Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen founds an institution that will revolutionize American design: the Cranbrook Academy of Art. Far from the New York or California metropolises, in the affluent suburbs of Detroit, this school invents a unique…
New York, 1933. The “Century of Progress” World’s Fair in Chicago celebrated American technological progress at the heart of the Great Depression. While Europe sank into political tensions and Russian Constructivism faded under Stalin, America invented a radically new visual language: Streamline Moderne. This style, which would transform everything – from toasters to locomotives, from…
Alvar Aalto: Nordic humanism in service of total design In the frozen landscape of 1920s Finland, a young architect sketched the outlines of a silent revolution. Alvar Aalto (1898-1976) did not merely build: he rethought human habitat in its entirety, from the spoon to the city. Architect, urban planner, designer and even glassmaker, this Finnish…
For them, furniture should embrace the human body instead of constraining it. Their forms are fluid, rounded, inspired by nature, made possible by technical innovations in molded plywood, fiberglass and injection-molded plastic. This research fits perfectly within the logic of organic design, where industrial technology serves natural forms and universal comfort. Charles (1907–1978) and Ray…
Eero Saarinen: The Sculptor of American Modernity Eero Saarinen, an iconic designer and architect, is renowned for his organic designs, which seamlessly blend form and function. In the 1950s, as America discovered its triumphant industrial power, one man was sketching the future with the fluidity of a sculptural gesture. Eero Saarinen (1910–1961) embodied that generation…
Do you know the Empire style? Do you know the Empire style? This French decorative style is historically situated after the Directoire style and before the Restauration style. It corresponds to the reign of Napoleon Bonaparte (Napoleon I) and marks the peak of French decorative art in the early 19th century. It should not be…
Do you know the Consulate style? Do you know the Consulate style? This crucial artistic period is historically situated between the Directoire and Empire. It marks the consolidation of Bonaparte’s power and the emergence of a renewed French decorative art. It should not be confused with the Directoire style that precedes it nor with the…
