The End and Resurgence of Mid-Century Design

Written by Mark Jennings Friday, 13 May 2011 08:46

Such as in the European countries during the twenties the Bauhaus manifesto provided the guidelines and inspiration for the following 40 years in terms of decorations and architecture so in the U.S. in the thirties Frank Lloyd Wright was in fact the precursor of what would later on become recognized as mid-century modern after the war.

Such as in the European countries during the twenties the Bauhaus manifesto provided the guidelines and inspiration for the following 40 years in terms of decorations and architecture so in the U.S. in the thirties Frank Lloyd Wright was in fact the precursor of what would later on become recognized as mid-century modern after the war.

Many generations of young American designers found inspiration in the Wright's Organic Architecture; the organic forms with the machine and the hand-crafted ones became, in fact, the 3 most important mid-century looks for furniture and objects.

Within the 1940 the Modern Museum of Modern Art of New York organized the Organic Design in Home Furnishings competition, a contest for young talented American designers, where the young Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen, stood out in the woodwork. Their 'Conversation, Relaxation and Lounging' chairs trio was in fact technological and innovative; designed with the spinal column in mind. It had an organic and ergonomic style: the body was correctly supported from the first moment. This was the begin of the mid-century era.

The Eames and Saarinen's work was a evident statement of new direction in furnishings design. The designers kept in mind the necessity of the Americans to have a more comfortable existence after the war. In the post war years mid-century designers started to try with new kind of materials like fiberglass, for example, and to re-interpret the old ones with the new technologies available, such as, for instance, working with the bended wood and plywood. The goal was to finally attain what the Bauhaus declared in its twenty years old manifesto: a mass, inexpensive, affordable production of quality furniture.

Manufacturers like Herman Miller and Knoll spent a lot in the research and development process. The results were, within many others, the Eames fiberglass Shell chair for Herman Miller and the Saarinen Pedestal table for Knoll. Thanks to the effort in between these progressive designers and makers, the mid-century modern design has been incredibly successful all through the 50s, sixties and seventies.