Space Age, retro-futuristic inspiration with a modern twist
This design movement created a pop, colorful and playful universe. From Vitra's iconic Panton Chair to Jean-Benjamin Maneval's bubble houses, the Space Age marked the 1960s, and has never ceased to fascinate designers since.
Between the H-bomb, space conquest and reconstruction: birth of the Space Age
Otherwise known as the Atomic Age, the Space Age design movement was born in the 1960s . While global geopolitics was gripped by tensions between East and West, the atomic bomb became an increasingly powerful argument between states. Born in this context on the American West Coast, the Space Age reflects both the trauma of the nuclear threat and a way for designers to re-appropriate it, injecting humor and lightness, using "vital forms". This term, theorized during an exhibition dedicated to the Space Age at the Brooklyn Museum of Art (New York) in 2001, designates these recurring forms, derived from nuclear iconography (molecules and atomic particles); testifying to the ambient schizophrenia regarding nuclear power, perceived both as an innovation and a threat that could lead to the extinction of humanity. Thus, round , organic and cellular shapes, geometric patterns, mischievously reproducing the scientific principles of nuclear power, draw the contours of the Space Age.
In parallel with nuclear development, the United States and Russia intensified their space race, initiated in particular by the launch of the Sputnik satellite in 1957 and the first space flight of Yuri Gagarin and Valentina Tereshkova in 1961. The space age of the 1950s-1970s influenced architects and designers, who seized upon the shapes and symbols conveyed (ships, rockets, satellites, etc.) and who, at the same time, initiated an imaginary dive into the future, speculating on what space had to offer using futuristic imagery: bizarre models, UFOs , bright colours hitherto neglected, galactic motifs, etc.
The 1960s also saw the arrival of new materials en masse. Lighter, less expensive and more agile, these products such as plastic, plywood or aluminum participated in the post-Second World War reconstruction, which had to be done not only quickly, but also at a lower cost. The commonplace nature of these materials inspired designers who saw in them a new field of expression, instilled by industry and new consumer needs. Modular, ergonomic, technological objects imposed designs with curved, incurved lines , breaking with the straighter movements of previous years. These new industrial products also allowed a more relaxed, more optimistic choice of colors, part of the desire to bring cheerfulness back into interiors, in a context that was, on the contrary, quite dark.
Space Age Icons
"Vital forms" were the language of designers of the time all over the world. The Danish Verner Panton , one of the pioneers, launched his famous Panton Chair , which has since remained an essential classic of design. Its flexible shape and 100% plastic composition make it the ideal illustration of the movement. It was the first single-piece chair in history; designed in 1959, it was developed for series production with the Swiss brand Vitra in 1967.
Let us also mention the Ball Chair by the Finnish Eero Aarnio, made famous by the film Men in Black , cast in an acrylic frame that was particularly innovative for the time; the Atoll lamp by the Italian Vico Magistretti , with a visionary design, like a UFO; the Keracolor television by the Englishman Arthur Bracegirdle , with a spherical shape reminiscent of a cosmonaut's helmet; or the sculptural Corona Chair by the Danish Poul M. Volther (see below) . The Space Age also invested fashion (Pierre Cardin or André Courrèges with his Moongirl line ), cinema ( 2001, A Space Odyssey by Stanley Kubrick) and, of course, architecture.
In architecture, structures are similar to flying saucers and spaceships, like some of Frank Lloyd Wright 's or John Lautner 's buildings . His Chemosphere House (1960), a concrete octagon, was voted "the most modern house in the world" in 1961 by the Encyclopædia Britannica. Since then, it has served as the setting for many science fiction films and video games such as GTA.
The Futuro house by Finnish architect Matti Suuronen (1968) is also a landmark. This prefabricated plastic holiday home, resembling a flying saucer, was designed as a portable ski chalet because of its ability to heat itself quickly; it can now be found in various museums as an ideal design illustration of the 1960s. Finally, the ingenious bubble house by Jean-Benjamin Maneval, designed in 1968 from a polyester shell, is one of the first French examples of plastic architecture ; a lightweight material allowing it to be easily transported and assembled.
Also known as Coffee Shop Moder, Googie architecture was born in the post-war period from a desire to modernize public spaces by conveying the optimism characteristic of the American dream. Motels, diners and gas stations were transformed, displaying futuristic, colorful signs along American highways (see below). The Googie was first born in California before spreading to other states, becoming one of the emblematic visual symbols of America during the Trente Glorieuses. The Theme Building at Los Angeles International Airport is one of its greatest emblems thanks to its shape, which is both a UFO and a molecular structure. Designed by Pereira & Luckman in 1961, it appeared in the series Columbo and, like the Chemosphere House , in GTA.
Like the "wonderful world" of Disneyland , which was consolidating at the same time, this exuberant style, on the border between reality and imagination, aimed to project Americans into a happy future, with the use of roofs raised like flying carpets, domes or stars, on the same bases as Space Age design. The Googie would quickly disappear, at the same time as the post-war utopia and President JFKennedy, at the end of the 1960s.
Space Age in 2023: From Reality to Utopia
What remains of the Space Age today, besides the Panton Chair and other cult objects, timelessly integrated into interiors since the 1960s? More lasting than it seems, this movement has infused contemporary designers and Artificial Intelligence, one of its most accomplished contemporary translations.
Far from being forgotten like Googie architecture, the Space Age continues to inspire many designers. In its most recent illustrations, we can cite the creations of Axel Chay : his Donut lamp (see below) with its atomic shape, his Septem stool with retro-futuristic tubes, also display typically sixties pop colors. The Ursula Futura brand, as its name suggests, is part of a resolutely Space Age universe, notably the Phantom Dish vase collection , with its extraterrestrial silhouette. The Uchronia furniture collection also uses colors and models characteristic of the 1960s, like the Cacahuète table (see below). Finally, the French toilet brand Trone has fun with the Space Age by creating lacquered and transparent concepts , giving a completely different vision of this everyday object, which until now had little involvement in design (see below).
The AD 100 Uchronia collective, specializing in the interior design of restaurants, residences and furniture publishing, is one of the most emblematic contemporary examples of the Space Age heritage, using pop colors, playful materials and retro-futuristic lines. For Julien Sebban, the founder, the Space Age aesthetic "tells a story and invites you to dream, like what we seek to do with Uchronia: to give another vision and interpretation of the architectural aesthetic that is sometimes, today, too minimalist and neutral for my taste . "
The utopia conveyed by the current and the curved shapes it summons particularly inspire the collective, which recently signed an office project for a Parisian start-up, going against the usual codes: "We wanted to give another image of the start-up: without table football, stickers on the walls and fake green plants" . The space was thus designed in a futuristic spirit with touches of color: a mirrored ceiling made of slabs, a reinterpretation of the office with its luminous slabs, classic vintage furniture combined with contemporary pieces. Justin Morin curtains illuminate the rooms thanks to a double height. A touch of softness is brought with the Uchronia Wave tables, a Superonda sofa from Archizoom and iconic Starck chairs. A ceiling light on the ground and ghostly silhouettes suggest that the place is still inhabited. "A marriage of contradictory but complementary styles" , summarizes Julien Sebban.
With Artificial Intelligence, the paroxysm of Space Age aesthetics seems to have been reached. The architectures and interior designs delivered by AI software escape any limits of feasibility, endlessly exploring retro- futuristic principles , in total creative freedom. Instagram is full of phantasmagorical content inspired by the Space Age, pushing the boundaries of creation. More curved, bizarre, atomic and intergalactic than ever, these interiors project into a universe both close to our reality and as if taken from a science fiction book, delivering unrealizable interiors.
Matteo, creator of the @paranormalvisual account , is an architect specializing in 3D visualization. His feed is full of Midjourney projections featuring futuristic settings: “I often use the theme of alien invasion as if it were a journey through different time spaces ,” he explains.
Space Age colours, in particular, fascinate him: orange, yellow, purple , and other reflective tones that, according to him, represent a way of looking towards the future like a mirror. At the same time, he sees the Space Age as "a journey into the past, looking towards the future, fantasising about technological imagery". Matteo is right: it is this constant back and forth between past and future that makes the Space Age such a fascinating and timeless movement.