Here’s What to Know About Art Deco Architecture

Ask three historians to define the term Art Deco, and you’ll likely get three varying answers. That’s because Art Deco is many different things to many different people, and its evolution is as unique as its expression in architecture, interior design, decorative arts, and fashion.

One concept most experts agree on is that Art Deco defies narrow descriptions. “The style encompasses all kinds of architectural trends from the 1920s to the 1940s, though it often refers to the vertical style of the 1920s,” says Anthony W. Robins, vice president of the Art Deco Society of New York and author of New York City Art Deco: A Guide to Gotham’s Jazz Age Architecture.

Sometimes referred to as modernistic or Style Moderne, Art Deco encompasses a variety of design aesthetics that were prominent in the early 20th century, says Robins. The style was related to many other architectural traditions such as Art Nouveau, Cubism, and the Bauhaus, with an emphasis on the use of geometric forms, sleek lines, and manmade materials.

The style developed after the upheaval of World War I, when cities like New York were growing exponentially. “There was a movement among architects during the ’20s and ’30s to create something unique,” says Angela Starita, an architectural historian and senior writer at the Cooper Union. “There was tension between ‘we have to copy everything they’re doing in Europe’ versus ‘why can’t we create something new?’”

Many factors helped designers turn away from historical designs to invent a new look that embraced the future, says Starita. For starters, a 1916 zoning resolution in New York City required buildings to taper inward with calculated setbacks in order to ensure adequate light and air for the streets and surrounding buildings below.

This requirement necessitated a whole new level of creativity in design. In addition, new materials, such as a rustproof alloy called Nirosta, were now available for construction. “You couldn’t use cast iron for skyscrapers because it required maintenance or it would rust,” says Robins. “But this new metal was used to adorn the exterior of skyscrapers such as the Chrysler Building with a silvery glow.”

Read on to learn how the style evolved, as well as its key elements and where you can see shining examples of Art Deco architecture.

What Is Art Deco Architecture?

Art Deco evolved as a culmination of the cultural, industrial, and social influences of a unique time in world history. With America’s growth as a global economic power after WWI, increasing industrialization, and a growing middle class, New York became a brash, modern metropolis on the world stage, says Robins.

While Art Deco is found everywhere on every continent, in New York, the aesthetic first took shape as a skyscraper style, says Robins. A small number of architects, who all knew each other, designed the iconic New York City buildings of the time from about 1923 to 1932, with each adding his own interpretation of the style.

Sadly, the Great Depression put an end to the building of these exuberant skyscrapers, with the last one opening in 1932. But by then, Art Deco had made its mark. During the ’30s and ’40s, apartment buildings, hotels, department stores, movie palaces, banks, restaurants, and even filling stations and parking garages—many that remain and have been restored and repurposed today—were built in the distinctive Art Deco style, says Robins.

Why Is It Called Art Deco?

The style typically was referred to as the modernistic or vertical style during its heyday in the ’20s and ’30s. Interestingly, it wasn’t actually called Art Deco until much later. The term was coined in 1966, based on the name of an influential design exposition, the International Exposition of Modern Industrial and Decorative Arts of 1925, says Robins. That long expo title then became shortened to Art Deco, or sometimes Deco.

Most Common Features of Art Deco Architecture

Although Art Deco encompasses a range of seemingly disparate elements, there are obvious features that make a building an example of Art Deco. While not every building will include every feature, these are the hallmarks common to most Art Deco buildings, say Robins and Starita:

• 360-degree design: The building typically can be viewed “in the round,” from all sides, almost like a piece of abstract sculpture.
• Verticality: Uninterrupted bays of windows are stacked vertically, often recessed behind tall stripes of brick or other materials.
• Color: Varying shades of brick, terra-cotta, or gleaming metal add brilliant hues to exterior design.
• New materials: New alloys allowed the use of rust-proof metals on the exterior of buildings.
• Stylized ornamentation and geometric patterns: Zigzags, lightening bolts, sunrises, stylized florals, geometric curves, and designs inspired by Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Aztec, Mayan, and other cultures are key Art Deco motifs.
• Industrial imagery and symbology: Corporate imagery showcased the building’s purpose in a sort of giant advertisement for the clients.

What Are Some Examples of Art Deco Buildings?