The Strange Return of Art Deco in America
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- Опубликовано: 13 дек 2023
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_CREDITS_
Video co-produced and edited by Evan Montgomery.
Stock video and imagery provided by Getty Images, Storyblocks, and Shutterstock.
Music provided by Epidemic Sound
Renderings of Rose Hill by Recent Spaces recentspaces.com
Join me on a journey through the evolution of Art Deco architecture, from its 1920s roots to its modern resurgence in Art Deco 2.0. In this video, we explore iconic skyscrapers like the Radiator Building and Rose Hill tower, taking a close look at the elements that define this timeless style and its contemporary adaptations.
_What's Inside_
Art Deco: Then and Now: Discover how Art Deco, born in the Roaring Twenties, is making a grand comeback in cities like New York and Chicago. We look at recent examples like One Bennett Park and how they echo the past.
Design Evolution: Learn about the intricate design elements of Art Deco, from geometric patterns to luxurious materials, and how modern architects are reinterpreting these for today's skyline.
A Tale of Two Towers: A detailed comparison of the Radiator and Rose Hill buildings, uncovering the subtle nuances of Art Deco design.
Art Deco's Modern Narrative: We delve into the implications of this architectural revival. Is it a mere stylistic choice, or does it reflect deeper societal trends?
_ Key Highlights_
Art Deco's history and influence in architecture and design.
Insightful analysis of modern Art Deco structures.
A critique of Art Deco 2.0 in the context of contemporary architecture and society.
_Why Watch?_
Gain a new perspective on architectural history and its modern-day relevance.
Enjoy stunning visuals and detailed architectural analysis.
Engage in a thought-provoking discussion about the role of architecture in mirroring societal values.
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If you're fascinated by the stories buildings tell, the evolution of architectural styles, and the interplay between history and modern design, this video is for you!
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Tags: #ArtDeco #Architecture #DesignEvolution #Skyscrapers #HistoricalArchitecture #ModernArchitecture #UrbanDesign #ChicagoArchitecture #NewYorkSkylines #ArtDecoRenaissance
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_About the Channel_
Architecture with Stewart is a RUclips journey exploring architecture’s deep and enduring stories in all their bewildering glory. Weekly videos and occasional live events breakdown a wide range of topics related to the built environment in order to increase their general understanding and advocate their importance in shaping the world we inhabit.
_About Me_
Stewart Hicks is an architectural design educator that leads studios and lecture courses as an Associate Professor in the School of Architecture at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He also serves as an Associate Dean in the College of Architecture, Design, and the Arts and is the co-founder of the practice Design With Company. His work has earned awards such as the Architecture Record Design Vanguard Award or the Young Architect’s Forum Award and has been featured in exhibitions such as the Chicago Architecture Biennial and Design Miami, as well as at the V&A Museum and Tate Modern in London. His writings can be found in the co-authored book Misguided Tactics for Propriety Calibration, published with the Graham Foundation, as well as essays in MONU magazine, the AIA Journal Manifest, Log, bracket, and the guest-edited issue of MAS Context on the topic of character architecture.
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I feel like Art deco is like a perfect mix between functionality and beauty. In between the excessive ornamentation of the Baroque style and the functionality and minimalism of modernism style. Appreciated by most people, not just intellectual architects (like modernist building often are). Have stood the test of time. Hope we get more building in the Art Deco style.
Me too. They give so much character to the neighborhoods they occupy.
Art Deco is beautiful because it did not outright reject the past. It's a natural evolution of what came before. Modern architecture in particular was bad because it was overly austere and went out of its way to reject everything from the past on the basis of novelty. They stripped most of the basic signals of craftsmanship and simple structural logic that laymen look for, like Boston's city hall, which looks both cheap and top heavy, as if a parking garage grew insect legs.
@@CheeseBae I agree about Boston's city hall. As soon as I saw it I thought "WTF? 🤨"
I hope we can see innovative designers effectively incorporate the style into much shorter buildings while still maintaining it's appeal.
@@CheeseBae Boston city hall was built in the short lived Brutalist style ..really a bit unfair to call it representative of good modern design ..I'm sure there are ugly Art Deco structures many times over.
I love Art Deco and I am happy that we are seeing a return to it. In my opinion the modernist architecture that replaced it is so bland and boring that all buildings look the same.
though it's a shame we're not seeing as much of a return of the arts and craft or art nouveau
Agreed! I feel like there's only so much you can do with everything being glass. There are some cool exceptions (1WTC comes to mind), but they're pretty rare.
x 2
every time some expert covers the shift to modernism / international style, they bring up the same quote about glass towers being "weightless, almost transparent" and I'm like what kind of Wiley e. coyote mf looks at a modernist building and goes "wow! it's almost like it wasn't there! bet I could run right across it!"
people love blaming modernist architecture because it's an easy unnuanced take; but the reality is capitalism, there's great works of modernist architecture, but it also happened to coincide during a capitalistic skyscraper boom whose first objective is to make money, hence the glass towers you see today, they're cheaper to build; there were a lot of old ugly art deco buildings that were demolished; in 30-40 years people will say this same about the more well designed modernist buildings that will remain:
again, art deco and art nouveau buildings are expensive to build, and the manual labour craftsmen to build it are no longer alive; they also have larger carbon footprint because stone is a heavier material to transport
Art deco is my favorite style because it makes full use of modern technology without abandoning aesthetics, a perfect balance between modern and traditional architecture. Could I afford to live in one of those buildings? Probably not. But if I have to look at a building I'd rather it be art deco than anything else.
We could make any style using current technology. We just choose not to because construction companies and architecture firms have decided for us that we don't like gothic, romanesque, art nouveau or any style other than featureless modern.
And this is a great point. The rich might live IN it, but we've all got to look AT it / live with it. I enjoy the character these buildings bring to the city.
@@jasonhenderson9833 That's an interesting decision to make. Similar to the "in the city" vs. "rich hills area". You can live in the city while having a view to the hills, which is beautiful, or you can live on the hills with a view of the (possibly dirty) city. Which one is better?
To me, this deco nouveau lacks many of the hallmarks of early deco- there's little of the ornate artiness of the entryways and whatnot. It's like a soulless recreation with little, if any, of the ornate beauty of the original deco. It looks like a cheap knock-off.
@@Sekir80 seeing rich people houses littering hillsides is nothing but an eyesore. They destroy the natural beauty of the place I live while constantly reminding me of their existence with their hillside warts they call "mansions"
As a building designer, there is an industry-wide fear of designing something old fashioned. Its a culture I find grating. There are plenty of new, beautiful buildings, but the way my fellow architects dump on designers who dare design something vaguely retrospective just drives me up the wall.
Agreed but looking back to the Bauhaus, Corb 1920s and 1950s International Style is A-OK though according to architects' inner circle.
They seem to forget the international style is 100 years old now, its crazy. Imagine a whole profession making things disliked by their audience for 100 years and insisting the people are wrong
That's really too bad cuz revisiting old ideas and designs shouldnt be a deal breaker. I use to live in Las Vegas and theres a theater there, the Smith Center, its totally art deco, it looks like it was built in the 1920s or 30s but its a newer building finished in 2012. Everyone LOVES this building, its really a jewell of the city.
This is a thing in every art field, and luckily it’s starting to be challenged a lot in the younger generations (like me XD). I work in music, and while throughout most of the 20th century there was this push to have your own signature new experimental technique, these days it seems we’re a lot more synthesis focused. Like, my teacher talked to us about how finding your voice isn’t necessarily the thing to be pursued, but to just compose and let your voice find you instead. Of course, it’s always valuable to push your boundaries and try something totally avant-grade and experimental and awesome, but it used to be the end all be all of what “good composers” were supposed to do, rather than just be tools in your arsenal. Some people naturally like just doing their one super unique individualized tool they work to hone and innovate and sharpen their entire career, some people are really amazing with a certain subset of tools, some people like only using old fashioned tools to either make things in older styles or to use them in new ways, some only want to use newer tools, some just like being jacks of all trades. No one’s wrong, because it’s art. Sure, there’s always stuff that can be specifically improved, but like, it’s the difference between stylistic choice vs unintentional mistake.
@@goncalodias6402brilliant
Art Deco coming back in the 2020's, what a poetic return and I'm so excited for it! wow
Gilded Age problems require Gilded Age solutions I guess.
I just hope the 1929 situation doesn't repeat in 2029
Totalitarianism will return in the 2030s then 😂
@josepesos more like A.I totalitarianism! as a.i art becomes more common aswell as robotics tech is rappidly caching up, buildings like this are built and designed by A.I and automated machines, no more humans involved. Corporations and the elite can save millions and billions of money by not hiring, paying the middle and lower class, further widening the rich from the poor. The rich gets millions with the help of A.I and the middles class gets replaced and becomes poorer and poorer.
@@josepesos It's knocking on the door in the US right now. Just look at the orange nazi.
I am a viewer from China and I read magazines published in late 1980s introducing architectures of US which showed there was a small scale of renaissance of Art Deco in 80s and even 90s (considering that some of designs actually built in 90s) including the NBC Tower, The Franklin and 311 South Wacker in Chicago, 75 State Street in Boston, and One Worldwide Plaza in New York.
Good point.
@@FavoriteThings606 NBC Tower may have a few elements exaggerated but others are understated. I'm not sure if I really see it as a postmodernist parody. I think it'd be hard to parody deco in a skyscraper because it is a style designed for skyscrapers. The postmodenist buildings would usually pull in parody elements like sloped roofs or cornices.
@@quartertwenty484 PoMo gets a bad rap but there were a handful of great buildings during that time that weren't ironic or parody but were a well-thought inventive reinterpretation of traditional forms that I think actually stand out now for their uniqueness and quality (especially over what has been built since)... in particular KPF and Pelli's work during that time, also SOM.
@@stewarthicks Stewart, @1:20 you say ''...Art Deco that ultimately lead us into the Great Depression...''. Can you explain now Art Deco was responsible for national economic policies, foreign trade treaties, monetary policy, etc. usually blamed for the Great Depression. I will eagerly await this ground breaking economic work.
It’s good art deco is making a comeback. It’s the only type of 20th century architecture that I can really appreciate.
There is plenty of good architecture that isn't Art Deco, but also isn't modern. There was still Beaux Arts being made into the 20th century, and a fair amount of Art Nouveau. Arts and Crafts was also still popular in the early parts of the century.
There was an Art Deco revival 30-35 years ago during the height of PoMo, it was called the 'Deco Echo'... especially the NBC Tower and The Franklin in Chicago, and to a less literal interpretation in much of KPF, Jahn and Pelli's high-rise work during this time.
It's not good. Not comparatively. It's so paltry and soulless.
The new "art-deco" does not look the same AT ALL. It still feels cold and made out of an assembly line. Still better than the just glass ones
Now if only car companies could stop making ugly abominations
I'm an architecture student and I incorporated art deco in all of my projects this semester in one way or another. My last project was a streamline moderne style building made of limestone and marble with copper accents. I love it so much!
Let's hope more and more students do this!
Bless you 🙏
Im about to take my first architecture drawing class in January and I love art nouveau, art deco, and streamline modern. I hope I can do something like this too with my classes.
@@pinkgirl192I love art nouveau’s flowing organic lines. Please bring this back
If you love art Deco buildings, come visit Detroit (not joking). Between The Guardian Building, Fox Theater, Fisher Building, The Filmore Theater, and the Penabscot Building you will have an absolute field day!
Even a few luxury condo towers and office buildings here in Bangkok also adopted Art Deco style. It really added character to the building, made it stood out among boxy modernist concrete jungle.
Anywhere near the level of the one in Singapore?
@@Jay-jq6bl Well, I don't think the examples here sharing the same level of fancy like the Parkview Square in Singapore, that one is a pure Art Deco Revival.
The buildings here do adopted a little bit Art Deco elements to the designs like...
HYDE Heritage Thonglor - adopted the ziggurat top and setbacks.
THE ADDRESS Siam-Ratchathewi - even though this one looks boxy modern from a far, it does have chevron pattern elements at the ground floor lobby.
Kronos Building - I think the roof of this one probably mixed with Gothic style of Woolworth building, but the interior lobby also features a gold colors with lining patterns.
Art deco reminds me of beauty before a disaster. Like a cloudy sky with sun shinning through before a thunderstorm.
Quite fitting. The sunburst is a common Art Deco motif.
You didn't even mention my favourite feature of art deco, the use of radial patterns like sunbursts, blooming flowers, drooping palm fronds, etc.
I always thought that if I win the lottery I’d build an Art Deco house with all the Art Deco touches, Art Deco furniture, etc. I can’t explain it but there is something about the style that just speaks to me. Terrific video. Love the channel.
Ha, I exactly have the same thoughts. At least Art Deco interior design, if the lottery win is not so much.
You dont have to hit the lottery to start start buying art deco antiques, just got to hunt for the deals. Iv'e been doing it on the cheap for the last 25 years, one piece every couple months, and have a amassed a pretty large collection of some pretty cool furniture, nick nacks, and fixtures for the house.
We now have a century since its original run and are in a position to be more objective about the style. The bottom line for me is that it simply looks good. Sweeping lines, geometric patterns, shiny surfaces, all without being over-the-top. (While I can appreciate Baroque, for me its too busy and ornate and stresses me out in large doses.) Art Deco can also look super-cool with certain Mesamerican elements added. Art Nouveau is also a style I think has a place in modern design. A clever designer is one who is able to adapt the essential spirits of past styles to modern sensibilities.
Also old church gothic can look quite nice with its geometricality and sometimes straight up material honesty with the suspended supports, though maybe pictures in window-art can be a bit over-the-top
Art Nouveau was a great expression of creativity in the pre-war period, and our culture hasn't returned to a point where such a thing is possible again. The wealthy class of today lacks the artistic taste necessary to create beautiful buildings. The wave of new-money tech millionaires is accompanied by poor taste, ego, and the absence of dignity.
Hence the advent of McMansions@@JohnFromAccounting
"be more objective about the style" *proceeds to write an entire paragraph of opinion*
Like what you want but there's a reason opulence immediately precedes everyone who isn't rich having a real bad time.
@@gearandalthefirst7027 Usually opulence is a sign of abundant wealth though. And, aside from today and the roaring 20s, I don't know of any times where opulence from the lower classes led to disaster.
My all time favorite architectural style for tall buildings. Specifically Gothic/Art Deco. It's a style that just exudes grandiosity. Because of the general massing of these Art Deco buildings, they really do look larger than they really are.
I see your a Ghostbusters fan.
Gothic+Art Deco was a thing?! 🤯
per Chicano tribune tower
@@nunyabiznes33See American Radiator building
@@nunyabiznes33look up the tribune building in chicago.
It's not really that strange. Even though Art Deco technically began at the Paris Expo, it's synonymous with American culture and aesthetics with echos throughout the whole of the 20th century. Every decade had an Art Deco influence in some form of art or cultural expression (fashion, architecture, interior design, graphic design, animation, etc) up until the 00's where it seemed to be purged from all forms of cultural expression. Glad it's making a comeback somewhere
I’d love to see a return of beautiful Art Deco style buildings, there’s a timeless geometry to them unlike many of the boring uninspired boxes of today
As with so much post WWII stuff-
I think the art deco style works well for buildings that are used for leisure like theaters, casinos, hotels, & such. For me, the style’s association with luxury brings another layer of enjoyment to those activities. I think it would be an interesting topic for a future video!
Train stations I think are especially good choices since so many people pass through them so often.
I have no illusions (or even aspirations) of ever being rich but I appreciate the presence of this style because it makes my experience of walking in and around a city that bit more interesting and fun.
People have finally accepted that art deco, despite not originating in the US, flourished in the US and became a truly American expression of luxury. Even the newest American luxury cars from Cadillac, Lincoln, and Jeep are embracing elements of it. Frankly I wish they'd go even deeper with the detailing so it really stands out from international brands and gives a strong American luxury identity to our products. I love to see these slightly cleaner, modern interpretations of art deco and hope it keeps expanding.
Which models of vehicles? I wanna see how they integrated it
It did not become that. You can't just claim the origination or right to something just because you use it a lot. America doing art Deco is just copying what other nations did at the time.
@@tortellinifettuccine And yet the most iconic art deco buildings are all American. There is no such thing as stealing a style.
@sudonim7552 that's just factually false...you not knowing them doesn't make them less popular 😂. The vast majority of art Deco creations are in Europe, both in general, and the majority of thr popular ones. This isn't even addressing the cold war era where many nations apart of the "communist" party had a large focus on art Deco and modernism, as well as brutalism. Some of the more famous American buildings are usally in the modern, or brutalist style.
@@tortellinifettuccineThe 'Art Deco skyscraper' is an American thing even if Art Deco itself started somewhere else. Only recently has Europe fully embraced skyscrapers of any kind.
I'm just happy the era of bland glass boxes is over!! Wooo!!! Keep it up! Bring in more decoration to our buildings! No more bland faceless buildings!
Hear Hear!
What about Glass Doughnuts?
Less is a bore.
As someone not from the US, it is interesting how Art Deco is so different in the US than here. In the US when you talk about art deco architecture, it is a skyscraper. Whereas here, in the UK and a lot europe it's single family homes, factories, a lot of cinemas and offices 6 storey high at most. The Midland hotel in Morecombe, The Egyptian house in Penzance, the Daily Express buildings in Manchester and London for example.
Lots of small stuff too, but the big stuff is more iconic than houses.
The skyscrapers get the most attention but smaller buildings were built in it. Miami has Iconic hotels from the AD period. Sadly many smaller buildings from that era didn't survive.
Im not from there, but bucarest in romania has perhaps the best collection of art deco houses and apartments in the world. Whole neighborhoods, its amazing, thei're all pretty degraded tho
We have tons of that in the US as well. This guy's channel is about skyscrapers.
As a US person who has lived in the UK I have to say that neither of these skyscrapers would be my first thought when it comes to Art Deco; all I ever think of is Miami Beach where endless single family houses, apartments of all sizes, duplexes, 4 units in a building, small hotels, cinemas, diners, restaurants, cafés, museums, fountains, larger hotels, churches, synagogues, post offices, cabanas, stores … everything is Art Deco, and for years people were not even allowed to build skyscrapers at all. Everything is white and pastel with designs and curvy glass brick corners and balconies, and everywhere palm trees and lush Florida vegetation and cleanest blue water… architecturally one of the best areas in the US. All to be under water soon I guess.
I really hope some Art Deco buildings come to Los Angeles. Art deco made cities look iconic.
There are already plenty examples of Art Deco in LA
There's the Eastern Columbia building in Downtown LA, The Deco building in Hollywood, and the American Radiator building just to name a few examples.
I love Art Deco, and it’s crazy how it still evokes progress and sleekness.
The New York public library is an incredible art deco building that is completely built for the public, as if a literal palace of knowledge for the every man. I feel like art Deco was more about style and the focus on detail and optimism then it was simply about wealth.
Art Deco, also known as the last architectural trend that wasn't a crime against humanity.
There was also Stalinist Neoclassicism which has lasted a little bit longer. It may not be exactly similar to Art Deco but it rhymes a lot both in ideology and in criticism against it.
Soviet Modernism is also quite fun to look at as both an example of communist ideology and a rebellion against it at the same time.
That said I strongly condemn communism and all of the grim legacy that we have of the Soviet Union.
@@alexeylutskyi6420 I think Soviet modernism and classicism both look really good. Obviously there's plenty of grounds for valid critique of Stalinism and the Soviet system in general, but they had some of the right ideas about architecture, and it's sad how many people overlook that.
lol what a chlidish edgelord take...
I hate brutalism but I love Neo futurism
@@alexeylutskyi6420Stalinist architecture is a crime against humanity.
Because of oil, Oklahoma had a massive building boom in the 1920s. Both Oklahoma City and Tulsa (especially Tulsa) have many Art Deco buildings still standing, despite Urban Renewal in the 60s and 70s. I grew up loving it, and I still love it. We even have plenty of small Art Deco buildings, so It isn't limited to skyscrapers.
A lot of Post-Modern skyscrapers in the 1980s and 1990s also had an art deco flavor.
For instance, NBC Tower (1989) in Chicago, Wells Fargo Center (1988) in Minneapolis, and Georgia Pacific Tower (1981) in Atlanta all emulate the massing of 30 Rockefeller Center in NYC.
Three Logan Square (1991) in Philadelphia and 200 Public Square (1985) in Cleveland have art deco style massing.
Liberty Place (1981) in Philadelphia emulates the Chrysler Building.
Chicago's Two Prudential Plaza (1992), Cleveland's Key Tower (1991) and Atlanta's Bank of America Plaza (1992) also have art-deco elements.
Houston's Williams Tower (1993) and Louisville's Aegon Center (1993), both by Philip Johnson, are other prominent examples.
CitySpire (1990) in NYC is another example.
There are also examples from the period in Charlotte, Raleigh, Detroit, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus, etc.
Also, there are lots of historic art deco residential buildings from the 1920s - 1940s in Detroit, New York, Miami, etc.
The most prominent examples of this are probably the twin-spire apartment complexes in Central Park West- The Majestic and the El Dorado.
Palmer Park in Detroit has a large collection of mid-rise historic art deco apartments. As does Miami Beach.
And, BTW, Jay Gatsby didn't live in an art deco apartment. He lived in a chateauesque or neoclassical Long Island mansion.
Williams Tower, originally (and still by many of us old timers) known as Transco Tower, opened in 1983.
See also Kohn Pedersen Fox in the mid-80s to early 90s: 225 W Wacker, 900 N. Michigan, 181 N. Clark, 311 S. Wacker all in Chicago, Proctor & Gamble HQ Cincinnati, 1201 Third in Seattle, Mellon Bank Center in Philadelphia, 75-101 Federal in Boston, Lincoln Center Minneapolis, 712 Fifth Ave NYC, 135 E 57th NYC, Foley Square Federal Courthouse NYC plus a handful more.
Also: Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte by Pelli, One Canada Square in London by Pelli, 75 State Street in Boston by Graham Gund, Oakland Federal Buildings (twin towers), LA MTA Building, One Franklin Square Washington DC, Home Savings (Figueroa) Tower LA
I love the original Art Deco skyscrapers of NYC. My childhood bedroom had a wonderful view of the Empire State Building. As I got into my early teens, I set up my drafting table in the window because I needed the light, but every time I looked up from my work, I saw the Empire State Building right there (unless there were low clouds). Unlike a lot of people, I prefer the Empire State Building's sobriety of design to the Chrysler Building's more flashy ornamentation, but that's probably purely a matter of taste.
One of the things about the Empire State Building that most people don't realize is that when you're at the base of the building, you're not even aware of the soaring tower right above you. Because of the step-backs, the street facade is just about the same height as the other buildings all around. To see the tower, you have to walk two or three blocks. This massing was determined by NYC's zoning laws at the time, but it makes the tower seem like it's in another world, very much separated from the life of the street.
At Rockefeller Center, the designers and the developers (the Rockefellers) took a very different approach, designing an entire "village" of Art Deco buildings. The RCA Building is the focus of the composition, and you can see its full height as you enter the Center from Fifth Avenue. It's really masterful planning and design, and it conformed with NYC's strict zoning for tall buildings.
Also, Art Deco interiors are really amazing! Not many survive, but Radio City Music Hall and the Rainbow Room, both in Rockefeller Center, are wonderful examples, as are the lobbies of the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building. I worked in the McGraw Hill Building in NYC when I was in grad school, and it also has a luscious, chrome and emerald green lobby. It wasn't in great shape when I worked there, but I think it's since been restored.
All this being said, I share your ambivalence about both the original Art Deco and its contemporary revival. It strikes me as "show-off" architecture for the very wealthy. At least the original Art Deco built some monuments chiefly enjoyed by the general public, although it was all privately financed. Can today's wealthy elite regain a sense of that "noblesse oblige"?
Not to forget Art Deco Classical also known as Stripped Classicism because of its pared-down use of Classical forms. The later development of Art Deco was known as Art Moderne and emphasised the horizontal lines rather than the vertical lines of Art Deco.
By the way, art deco was the first style to create ornaments in concrete. So if one style can be produced for everybody, it is Art Deco.
Plaster ornaments were prefabricated 'en masse' in the Classicism period, for outside use. It predates art déco by a few centuries.
@@bartrammeloo5046 Yes I use plaster often as an argument to say that old styles don't need to be expensive. A lot of complicated art nouveau ornaments are made in plaster. Minimalism is rarely about costs or inclusivity, it is about ideology. The desire for ornament is so strong that young people buy their own spray paint and fill walls with colorful graffiti. It is just a matter of channeling that energy in a way that most people can enjoy.
Couldn’t be less historically accurate. Study the Nubio-Kemetic civilization and try again.
I applaud the renaissance of Art Deco style once again. It will contribute to a sense of cohesion that absolutely is missing in many cities. How often have you noticed that each of the buildings in downtown are so wildly different in building style? Going back to a classic look might just help!
I went to high school at Bloom High School in the Chicago South Suburbs and I was always amazed at the Art Deco style of the building both inside and out.
Art deco and art nouveau (specifically Jugend, which is the variant of art nouveau that got used a lot here in Finland, and later in its lifespan transitioned to a more art deco-like designs elements) are my favorite architectural styles so I'm glad to see it making a comeback. At the very least anything's preferable to gray concrete cubes. Though I wish it wouldn't just be used for exclusive condos for the ultra-rich. Original art deco was also used for public buildings like train stations, and some of the jugend buildings here were originally built as affordable houses or for students, though since then the price of apartments in them has skyrocketed and some have been converted to hotels.
Incidentally, there was a new building constructed here in Helsinki in the recent years that supposedly was based on the jugend style (though to me it looks like it lacks all the most recognizable aspect of the style like the heavy use of ornamentation, natural stone, and random corner-towers), so I guess reviving architecture from early 20th century isn't just an American phenomena.
we need more art deco buildings
i was suprised by the number of art deco style projects i ve been seeing the last few years, not only in new york but here in Lima, Peru new luxury apartments and condos are using this type of style (not as high obviously, max 20 stories)
Very sensible on the rim of fire subduction zone.
@@ksgraham3477 i think we have a good anti earthquake technology nowadays, tokyo and chile have similar or way higher buildings with a higher earthquake scale, people are starting to build up here cus of the growing population.
The Art Deco skyscrapers of New York and even Chicago are iconic but I also love the Art Deco of Miami, specifically the hotels of Ocean Drive.
I love art deco and I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who feels this way. It feels modern and exuberant, and combines beauty and functionality in a way I think many people appreciate. I absolutely enjoy seeing more modern buildings take their cues from art deco.
Art Deco is back because the public is tired of all the boring bird-murdering glass boxes, as well as the abstract "sculptures" the average person cannot relate to. Art Deco is modern "enough," it makes structural sense to the average person, and it doesn't go out of its way to be weird, overly austere, nor scream for attention.
And all the dead birds that slam into the mirrored windows. Not to mention the increase of heat generated by solar reflections.
I'm here for my strong vertical lines and geometric ornamentation. I was a bus tour guide in Chicago when one Bennett Park was opening and I absolutely love it. Stern is so talented in taking classical designs and modernizing them. I live in LA now where there's much more art deco, and it's one of the few things architecturally that it has over Chicago. I hope that in the coming years as we hit 100 years of art Deco, We see a lot more of it. Less randomly staggered windows please
I freaking love art deco especially because it's long been associated with so much great science fiction of the same era, or referencing it. Los Angeles city hall is one of my favorite examples. I'm glad for the renewed appreciation and some of the contemporary interpretations are really cool. Great video!
It'll be cool if y'all did an episode on Cincinnati's architecture! The Carew Tower, Findlay Market, Union Terminal, The Banks, Great American Tower, Fountain Square, Roebling Bridge, italianate architecture, ect
Art deco is the most recent style of architecture that I love! So I'm happy people are building new buildings inspired by it! I don't see it as appropriating an era in a negative way. We have neo-gothic, neo-classical etc styles, why can't we have neo-art deco? Also I think it fits the times we live in, where we are constantly reintroducing old or semi-old styles of clothing, music etc. Why not also architecture?
Art Deco IS making cities better for ordinary people. By making buildings buetifull again, you make cities a better place to be
Hi Stewart! Greetings from the U.K... Thanks for another great upload...
I'm Anglo Indian and studied architecture at university in the mid nineties...
I then travelled around the United States, and was for a while in Miami... Where I saw the Art Deco architecture there...
On a recent visit to Mumbai (the biggest city in my ancestral home), I took a walk through the Art Deco district there...
All the buildings were worn and weathered, it quite a beautiful way which only accentuated their grandure from a bygone age...
I was reminded of the Art Deco buildings that I saw in Miami, and thought that the buildings there, all refurbished, looking shiny and new with their newly illuminated neon pink and blue signs.. lacked tne depth if the Art Deco buildings in Mumbai..
I guess that's again again another form of regeneration, but I'm sure John Ruskin would not have been pleased!
Tulsa, “The Oil Capital of the World” in the early 1900s, has Art Deco embedded in the history, architecture, and image of the city. Tulsa still uses the style today to continue the legacy of Art Deco and the city’s. It adds a special charm when in the oldest areas of town.
Deco is one of my favorite styles and it fits well with very vertical buildings because it was built around verticality. I don't see why we would want to "move on" from design languages consider them anachronistic when they still work fine for the type of structures we're interested in building.
I also feel like your argument that it's some kind of throwback to the gilded age is very superficial. It's hardly like many billionaire towers haven't been built that are modernist. The style really isn't to blame for inequality, and all of these supertall residentials are designed for wealthy people regardless of the building style.
Also your guest describing glass wall modernism as "almost disappearing" is not my experience with it at all. But I think it *is* an experience birds have with glass walls unfortunately.
Yeah. I think moving on from, say, Gothic is a valid decision considering that flying buttresses and pointed arches are no longer necessary with modern technology, but I don't see how Art Deco is outdated to nearly the same extent. Modern buildings are still more or less structurally the same as they were 100 years ago, so the way I see it, there's nothing wrong with applying similar styles.
@@roundninja Yeah that glass wall fetishist guest gets it exactly backward. Art Deco is a stripped-down and austere style versus art nouveau or beaux arts. Apparently *any* ornamentation beyond a wall of glass is ostentatious to them.
Setting aside the fact that the wall of glass is itself pretentious, authoritarian, an ecological disaster both from the perspective of the birds who die from it and the fact that the inside of a glass building is only habitable due to the HVAC. It's leaky and hard to maintain especially when using the glass as part of the roof like they do in the Thompson Center. It has to be cleaned constantly or it looks like shit and because the windows can't open that has to be done using a guy hanging from a rope from the roof! And of course occasionally the glass panels come off and crush pedestrians below.
When I see a wall of glass I see an image of the panopticon (we can look out and see you but you just see yourself reflected back!). Its anachronistic in that it's only suitable to the obsolete massive floorplan office and commerical formats of the late 20th century. And while this guy thinks he's clever by juxtopisioning art deco against scenes from the great gatspy, one could do the same say, juxtaposing the wall of glass with the mirror sunglasses of the warden in Cool Hand Luke.
I hope we indulge more in the glamour of Art Deco as the current modern styles lack any definition, curiosity or historical imagination
The visual interest provided by the rich detail of Art Deco is much more appealing than the stark rectangular forms of modernism. I applaud the resurgence.
Industrialism, minimalism, and brutalism lack emotional connection and real beauty. This era of NuDeco is great to see.
I've always been captivated by the style of it! Great video.
I wish you could make a 2nd video to this where you spoke more about examples aside from the big tall skyscrapers. I live in Miami Beach, FL which is so well known for it art deco buildings because there are so so many examples and is such a different scale. Sad it doesn't get much attention because of their bigger siblings. Is more of you typical low rise apartment blocks and small hotels. As an architect is it so enriching to live is a place that doesn't feel invasive and opulent even thought is in a style that is trying to reflect otherwise. Besides, is quite stunning to see this style with a tropical flair to it. Think instead of chevron patters you find palms trees or banana leafs. Love your channel!
I was making the same point too. Mumbai is closer to Miami's Art Deco in that respect.
Hi Stewart, I've been watching your videos since back when I was one of only a couple of hundred subscribers and have been delighted to see you and your channel grow over time. It's very satisfying to see someone so clearly passionate about their subject and I'm glad to see that you have never lost that spark. I liked this video in particular and the way you contextualize the style historically, economically, and socially and navigating the dynamic of whether buildings should be designed for people or for people's egos. Keep up the good work and keep being true to your own unique self.
Just watched a video the other day on 220 Central Park South. I was like, "Damn, that has an Art Deco feel." As an architecture nerd, I just like seeing a well designed building that makes sense. Rather see these go up instead of some of the modern monstrosities in the past 20 or 30 years. (I am more of a mid-century guy myself and my favorite building is Seagram/NYC) Great video, will have to get that book.
Thanks! - as someone who is a fan of all things Art Deco (and Machine Age style) this was really informative and I learned a ton!
Thank you, glad you enjoyed it! I really appreciate your support.
You and Michael Wyetzner in my RUclips menu in one morning. What a treat! :o)
Wow, this video is from the future! One building was built in 1924 and the other one "a little over 100 years later"
Love Art Deco and was privileged to lead the team converting Sunset Tower in WeHo into a Boutique Hotel. A building full of magic. And Hollywood History!
Art deco buildings are beautiful. Seeing beautiful buildings is good for people, hence this style when applied to the built environment is inherently humane, no matter what the building may be or for whom it may have been built.
I look forward to this channel every fortnight!
I don'y know what is is about Art Deco but, for me, it was love at first sight. Can't get enough of it.
This is your best video in a while. Your personality coming out really made it feel more personal and engaging. I hope to see more like this!
I think the reason Art Deco is returning is because it is the "simplest" of the most popular past architectural styles. You can see it in these new buildings their art deco-ness is lines on the columns, it as simple as can get meaning more profit for developers. However, harking back to a time that people like the architecture of and people can at least appreciate they made an effort, unlike every other glass box that goes up around it. It's bascially putting in the least amount of effort to make a building somewhat interesting.
I think this is beautiful! Thanks for the book recommendation as well.
To say that any style is a little bit misguided is a bit narrow-minded. Design choices of any kind stem from many cultures and factors. In the case of the great depression, we know exactly who was to blame and why we all suffered for it. I wouldn't blame art deco itself.
I’ve taken inspiration from local Art Deco history to inform a meager parking deck in a downtown with proximity to one of our city’s iconic landmarks, the RJ Reynolds tower (which was the grandfather to the Empire State building)
I have been collecting Art Deco for the last 30 years,there is just something magical about it.
I still think Art Deco is a beautiful style.
I feel like it should be Deco 3.0. Deco had a major moment in the 80s too.
I am reminded of the work of Lucien Lagrange, whose Chicago buildings include the Park Tower, Waldorf Astoria Chicago, and The Pinnacle, among others. His studio can do modern design, but they are best known for their recreations of 19th-century "arrondissement-style" buildings. As you have alluded, it's an architectural style that conveys luxury and wealth.
The building at 2:52 with the large winged chrome figure is the Niagara Mohawk Building in Syracuse, NY, an electric utility. My all-time favorite Art Deco building.
I love these designs
Personally, I want to see a revival of Art Nouveau architecture, which was unfortunately crushed in its infancy by the outbreak of World War One.
The Sagrada familia is a great example of why it isn’t really viable in the large scale of modern developments
Not every building has to be built with the ambition of the Sagrada familia, @@ReallyNoAlex, just as not every building has to be a bare concrete cuboid devoid of ornamentation. Modern engineering design software and large-scale 3D printing of architectural materials could certainly allow contemporary designers to incorporate the heavily-ornamented organic forms and aesthetic asymmetries characteristic of Art Nouveau architecture without taking lifetimes to build or breaking any banks.
@@ReallyNoAlex
Don't worry the Sagrada Familia will be finished any day now.
Very interesting. Wasn't aware that the art deco architectural style was coming back. Do love art deco and streamline modern style, however. My 1940 LaSalle for example.
This is one of my fave subscribed sites. Loved this one in particular. Thank you, Stewart.
Art Deco as far as I see it is the best way to bridge the gap between Modernism and classical architecture it creates buildings the public wants to live among as opposed to 99% of modernist architecture, or the Architecture of the low talent CAD architects.
I still think art deco is the most beautiful style. It's all about the detail, which is missing from modern glass blocks.
Art Nouveau can be really amazing too. Some are over done, but when done right I think it can be one of the best.
I am really glad that Art Deco is beginning supplant the chaotic postmodern architecture of the past 20 years, I hope this trend continues
Art Deco is probably my favourite modern architectural style. In steel, it feels like pure American vernacular. Heavy, strong, solid.
I like the original Art Deco design for what it is. This new rendition feels more like a Neo Deco than Art Deco 2.0. Since it’s for private spaces rather than spaces many people (albeit employees) will experience, I’m less interested this as a trend to support.
The return of Art Deco is really just a consequence of America's return to cities as the focal points of wealth and culture after the failures of the mid-20th century suburban experiment and car-centric development. As people move back to cities, they need places to live, and with lots of apartment buildings being constructed, builders are now competing to build good-looking buildings to attract tenants. The reason Art Deco specifically is coming back is that it is the most recent architectural style that looks good, because the styles that followed it all rejected the fundamental concept of aesthetics. This resulted in buildings in those "modernist" styles being hideously ugly and very bland, and so everybody except architects hates them with a firey passion. Since Brutalist and post-modernist buildings are all ugly and asymmetric with leaky flat roofs, nobody wants to live in them. Art Deco is, by contrast, vibrant and lively and still carries an aura of sophistication, but without the connotations of stuffiness and backwards social ideas that would come from reviving something like Victorian or Edwardian architecture. Basically, Art Deco represents the last architectural movement that normal people would actually want to be around.
Very happy to see!
YESSSS I LOVE ART DECO!!!! I’ve been wanting a revival of beautiful architecture for years now and I TRULY hope this trend never stops!
It's just cool. There is a reason everybody loves Gotham city.
“Deco Echo,” not 2.0
Can’t forget that Art Deco was huge in the 1980s. It was everywhere again; in architecture, home decor, art in general.
was sitting in Bryant Square Park a month ago looking at that magnificent building.. Now, this is the 2nd video about it I've got recommended since then. Love it!
"It's all about showing off wealth and power" As are most architectural landmarks built over the last several thousand years.
The pyramids: "You saying something?"
🤣
Art Deco come back could be also be interpreted as a way to rediscover 'classical' elements in architecture.
Sort of 'new urbanism', but applied to skyscrapers.
In today's climate, classical is likely to be European ideas whereas Art Deco looked beyond that. But, yours is a good idea, the re-interpretation.
Fabulous piece here! Love the history and design background you bring! Thank you!
If you get a chance, check out the city hall in Buffalo, NY... the city has many Art Deco buildings, but the city hall completed in 1931 is magnificent.
I feel like you're really having to stretch at the end. Not everything has to be a controversy. Just let's build beautiful buildings.
here in Brazil, a lot of new art deco buildings have been popping up across the country, tbh it's probably my favorite architectural style
I'm *all* for this! Love art-deco, it has so much character!!!
I love Art Deco it’s beautiful it exudes opulence with a more modern approach to architecture. I’d love to build art deco home with that more steam liner/marine look. Stark white/flat roofs with black metal framed windows 😏🥹
Im happy art is actually being appreciated in architecture
"actually"
@@jamesmcinnis208 thats what i said
Old buildings are art deco. New buildings are modernists trying to pass as art deco to inflate value.
I'm a building engineer at Northwestern. Love your work. Plus when you talk about the working of the building from HVAC to random stuff.
Let’s gooooo art deco back on the menu
Honestly I think a lot of it is simply that "modern" skyscrapers are - and always have been - super ugly. Art Deco in contrast is beautiful, and has stood the test of time. People simply want nicer looking buildings that say something about where they're built - not soulless glass boxes.
люлю вашвідео
Art Deco is beautiful and designing in that style is never misguided.
I love Art deco, and hope many future buildings are that style.