Friday, December 30, 2011

Futuramic!

Ahead of the New Year, let's take a look back.  To 1948. I found these Oldsmobile ads in some old Vogue magazines.  The 1948 cutting-edge design of the cars doesn't hold up so well, but take a look at the architecture!  The "Futuramic" homes still look modern and new even to world weary almost-2012 eyes.

April 1948 Vogue featured a bright yellow Futuramic Oldsmobile and a wowser of a modern home by Chiarelli and Kirk. Their partnership started in 1944.  This home was a real construction. The text states that the house was (is it still?) built in Port Angeles, Washington.  Some more research indicates it must be the Dr. Schueler house built in that city in 1947.

The only photos I can find of the Dr. Schueler House are interiors.  http://content.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/kt1199r2zg/

The May 15 issue brought the design with a delightfully curvaceous Olds Club Sedan and a delightfully angular house by Marcel Breuer!  Look at that house!  That's in 1948. That huge car fits nicely under the cantilever at the rear and it's all view out the front through those floor-to-ceiling windows! Breuer's Bauhaus ideals are shining here.  Does anyone recognize this Breuer?  It appears to be the Gilbert Tomkins House built in 1945 in Hewlett Harbor, NY. 



Here's a photograph of the Tomkins house from http://trianglemodernisthouses.com/breuer.htm .  Same house, yes?


In June Vogue gave us a cherry red Oldsmobile and a cheer-worthy piece of architecture by Vincent Kling.  It's a beach house, but there's no location noted. Kling was a Philadelphia architect.  Anyone have a clue as to where this house might be? This one is so futuristic I can't believe it was constructed. But I hope it was and I hope one of you readers can tell us where.  Here's Miss June 1948 and isn't she a beaut?

 

1948 was a very good year for good design. In 2012, let's celebrate good design from all eras. 

Cheers to you in the Futuramic New Year from C. Resources and INArchitecture!