Mid-century Modern Architecture

What defines Mid-century modern?

The term itself is rather hard to define. It is first applied in 1983 as a style descriptor in the title of Cara Greenberg’s book: “Mid-Century Modern: Furniture of the 1950s”. Today, it celebrates the style that is recognized as a significant art direction and movement by scholars and museums worldwide.

Mid-century modern was a design renaissance for furniture, interiors and architecture. Very sleek, distinctive style, organic and streamlined forms, and lack of decoration define Mid-century modern. It had seen a major revival in the past years. Today, you can see the most modern and luxurious homes built in mid-century modern form.

Many Mid-century Modern representatives should be mentioned like George Nelson, Arne Jacobsen, Charles Eames and his wife Ray Eames, although they are mostly recognized for their industrial furniture design. Rudolph Schindler, Louis Kahn, and Eero Saarinen were mostly known for Mid-century modern architecture.

The mid-century modern movement in the States was a representation of the International and Bauhaus movements, including the works of Gropius, Florence Knoll and Le Corbusier. It should be pointed out that the American style was slightly more organic in form and less formal than the International Style. Scandinavian architects were very influential at this time, with a style identified by clean simplicity and integration with nature.

Speaking of nature, mid-century architecture was frequently seen to open up interior spaces and bring the outdoors in. The function was as important as much as the form in Mid-century designs, with an emphasis set on targeting the needs of modern forward-looking families. Palm Springs, a famous city in the Sonoran Desert of southern California is known as a modernism mecca for mid-century architecture and design.

Additionally, you can find Mid-century modern designs in a few of our other articles, such as Steven Harris Architects and Beautiful estate in Buenos Aires.

It seems that no matter the year, houses designed in this form never seem to go out of style.

Do you like this style? We love it.

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