Streamline Moderne
Architecture

If you encounter a building that could pass for a retro ocean liner – curved edges, polished surfaces and an Art Deco flair – you’re almost certainly looking at a Streamline Moderne structure. As the 1920s turned into the ‘30s, the design world became increasingly obsessed with aerodynamics, and ocean liners were perfect exemplars of refined sleekness. In the same way that designers of great ocean vessels shed any ornament which could impede forward progress through the water, Streamline Moderne architects eagerly discarded historical practices that (in their view) held back the discipline. Gone were all flourishes and revivalist tendencies. In was the path to the austere International Style.

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Illustration of a Streamline Moderne building
A Streamline Moderne hotel with red and blue accents

Rounded corners

Where traditional Art Deco buildings would turn into right angles at the corners, Streamline Moderne buildings curve at the edges, emphasizing sleekness

The long horizontal form of a Streamline Moderne building

Long horizontal lines

Long, horizontal lines evoke motion and speed, visually representing the flow of air past surfaces

The smooth, polished surfaces of a Streamline Moderne building

Smooth, polished surfaces

In keeping with the streamlined focus of the style, surfaces are always smooth and polished, with little to no ornamentation

Nautical projections on top of a Streamline Moderne auditorium building

(Aero)nautical themes

Nautical homages like masts, sails, and porthole windows are common. Occasionally you can also find a nod to aeronautics (wings and rudders)

The entrance to a Streamline Moderne building, with large glass brick window sections

Glass brick windows

Glass bricks were used heavily, often in long horizontal panels that complement the overall length of the buildings while keeping things light and airy

A Streamline Moderne building in a tropical climate

Creamy exteriors

Rarely ever dark, most buildings of the style are painted in creamy whites on smooth, stucco walls, perhaps with a hint of pastel coloring

A Streamline Moderne Greyhound bus terminal covered in teal tiling

Pastels

While a smooth creamy finish is the norm, there is also a place for pastels in this style. These can be woven into details or even used as a primary color, especially blues and teals

A Streamline Moderne transit center

Grooved decorations

Buildings can have grooved details that evoke the streamlined grills of automobiles or bullet trains

A Streamline Moderne hotel with a prominent bow at its entrance

Bowed projections

Taking the nautical references even further, some buildings featured bowed projections as direct references to the front portion of a ship

A cream colored Streamline Moderne diner with red and teal stripes

Racing stripes

Horizontal banding in colorful accents can be found wrapping around buildings, complementing the streamlined curves and drawing the eye around