Roots of Style: Midcentury Modern Design
Explaining the present popularity of midcentury modern house design leads us straight back to this 30-year extend from 1945 to 1975 — a period of remarkable economic growth, which generated a desire for innovative design in everything from clothing to automobiles. At the time modern home design was known as contemporary. The expression “midcentury modern” came into common usage in the late 1990s. The powerful affection for it lately could be linked to many cultural circumstances.
First, nostalgia generally manifests itself in people who reach midlife; in such circumstance it would be the baby boomers. Many, including me, connect icons of this period together with fond childhood memories.
Second, shifts in outlook frequently result in shifts in flavor. Consider how technology, the 9/11 strikes, the terrific recession and instant access to information have transformed society in recent years. Minimalist aesthetics match with the requirement to streamline and upgrade our own lives.
Third, structural transparency is located in the center of midcentury home design. This honesty of building appeals to our need to comprehend and make sense of a complicated world.
Keycon, Inc
Midcentury modern style reached all parts of the U.S. and likely drew its most significant influence from the 1945 Case Study House program in Southern California, sponsored by Arts and Architecture magazine.
The Case Study goal was to supply inexpensive home designs implemented using modern flaws, even though the original designs which were actually built ended up becoming prized individual examples on valuable land. Still, the idea carried over with one particular California developer by the name of Joseph Eichler. He hired many excellent firms to style tracts of houses that epitomized midcentury home design.
Apartment and gable roofs include the two principal types of houses. Both unite in this California Eichler-built home. Notice the way the garage door header beam is emphasized with a contrasting shade. The gable end is glazed above the garage doors, along with a flat roof section extends into the right in this opinion.
Keycon, Inc
Once more, the header beam is emphasized with a contrasting shade, along with a very low-sloping gable roof. In the entrance area that is central, evident in this standpoint, is an atrium or courtyard around which the home is built. These outdoor rooms were a fresh and unique concept ideal for milder climates.
Take in the linear essay of this home, composed of expanses of glass walls contrasted with long airplanes of brick veneer and a considerable brick chimney shape. The branches in the windows establish rhythm, and a solid overhanging eave line contrasts all of the elements, creating a single motif.
Keycon, Inc
Structural transparency clearly expresses itself in this California Eichler. Roof rafters rest on ceiling beams, which rest on posts, which rest on a header, which is supported by primary walls and posts.
Webber + Studio, Architects
Wood posts and beams unite with stone veneer in this remodeled Texas home. A number of substances can be found in single use or in mixes on midcentury houses. Most California examples have some kind of wood siding and are occasionally mixed with brick or stone.
Steinbomer, Bramwell & Vrazel Architects
An advanced use of substances allowed creative expressions of ordinary and uninteresting elements in midcentury structure. See the screen applied for this Texas house. This simple component extends a living space and gives the exterior visual interest.
Steven Corley Randel
International-style home design descended directly from the European modernist movement which created between World War I and World War II. This forebear of midcentury architecture normally emphasized the minimum and simplest configuration potential, particularly flat roofs and sterile stuccoed walls. This midcentury California example translates the global style with comparable long, monolithic stucco and wood-clad walls.
In another California house, the powerful indoor-outdoor relationship expands the living space to the backyard. The ceiling beams give rhythm and finely coordinate with the branch of windows and sliding glass doors. The masonry chimney functions as an anchor, and the extensive eave line physically and visually protects the arrangement using a delicate touch.
Himes Miller Design Inc..
Entirely much like the previous case, this Eichler-built residence exhibits the low-sloping gable roof type. Notice the inherent transparency of this structure, together with natural light streaming from one end of the house to another.
Steven Corley Randel
The influence of post and beam midcentury structures can also be found in different styles popular during this period. “Contemporary ranch” best explains this case. Notice the beam detail in the gable combined with a wood shingle roof, stone and wood siding.
Jeffrey Gordon Smith Landscape Architecture
Even though they generally have just one level, a few midcentury homes may have more than one. The overhang of the balcony and the finish walls framework a linear composition here. Split-level versions exist as well. Who can forget Mike Brady’s design?
What is ahead for midcentury design?
Regardless of the significant influence and significance of modern design, this kind of residential structure made up just a small section of the market as it was brand new. Successful replications of this style are difficult for many reasons.
In its time midcentury structure paid no more attention to energy intake, something which can no longer be ignored. Building codes and structural design jump in sophistication with each natural disaster, as well as the simplicity found in original midcentury layouts is extraordinarily difficult to reproduce following the required building standards. And the sprawling character of midcentury home design is becoming increasingly tough to reach in highly populated areas.
A similar contemporary aesthetic has developed in the past few years with a whole lot of influence from midcentury style. However, the forms tend to be bulky and heavy compared. Though a consistent dialogue has not yet been established that defines present tendencies in modern design, the popularity of this midcentury aesthetic stays powerful.
More: Why We Love Midcentury Modern Design