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1920s And 1930s Art Deco Architecture

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As a concept 1920s and 1930s Art Deco architecture was particularly hard to define. It can be referred to as a decorative style that was new and innovative, as well as one that drew heavily on influences of the past. A closer look shows a bit of everything, Art Deco was able to take almost every movement, compress and reimagine them into a unity of their individual traits. The one thing that persists in all Art Deco architecture was its ability to usher in an era of new materials that were developed specifically for the decorative arts, interior decoration, and exterior building construction. Materials such as concrete, steel framing, terra cotta, flexwood, wood veneers, metal-steel framing, plate glass, and glass blocks proved to be exceedingly versatile within this style. While new materials such as stainless steel and …show more content…

Cast concrete was the perfect medium for architectural ornamentation on buildings, in addition to providing new structural advances with steel reinforced concrete. It also served as an ideal replacement for stone lintels and door surrounds. Art Deco architecture used concrete not just for its structural integrity, but also for its decorative quality [Figure 1]. One of the most basic, but important characteristics of concrete was its ability to be sculpted into numerous forms. Its capacity to mimic the look of more expensive stone made cast concrete a cheaper alternative in decorating buildings. Waste molds, ones used for a singular element then to be discarded after the design was finished, were used to create elaborately detailed decorations. On the other hand, simple designs could be made from molds that were reused repeatedly to create patterns. The concrete itself was not only cheaper in cost than other materials, but the molds also enabled for a lower production and decoration

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