Art Deco District, Miami Beach

“Among a hundred paintings, you could recognize mine, my goal was: Do not copy. Create a new style... colours light and bright, return elegance in my models.”

Tamara de Lempicka

Regardless of my preference for minimalistic, functional approach, and passion for ‘less’ in architectural expression, I have always considered Art Deco attractive. Maybe, because it allowed me to study and learn about the variety of details executed and materials applied in the design process or maybe because it is different, opulent and brave in comparison to what I deal with every day and what I consider to be ‘my simple style’.

However, the real reason for writing this note on the style was my visit to Miami Beach. There, facing the ocean promenade the most incredible, simple, whitewashed buildings stood. Some of them were covered in pastel colours (for some unjust architectural fad executed in the 80s’) but mostly in various shades of white, with elegant proportions and magnificent details.

According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, Art Deco, also called style moderne, is a movement in the decorative arts and architecture that originated in the 1920s and developed into a major style in western Europe and the United States during the 1930s. Its name was derived from the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes, held in Paris in 1925, where the style was first exhibited.

Art Deco Style was the mixture of man-made and natural materials. Black glass, polished metals, lacquer, Bakelite, zigzag patterns, mirrors, prominent lighting and saturated colours. In furniture, the use of materials like ebony, zebrawood with inlays of tortoise shell and ivory was extensive. Sharply angled, cubistic shapes, stepped forms, geometric ornamentation, symmetry and repetition of elements were the main characteristics of the style. Admiration for the modernity of the streamlined ‘machine age’ was visible through the design. Art deco was a fashion oriented and strongly decorative style, not concerned with issues of functionality and technology.

In each country Art Deco presented different outcomes according to local traditions, which were combined with modernist tendencies and were inspired by nature, historical precedent, abstract geometry and exotic cultures. While the United States chose not to participate in the Paris fair, delegations of museum directors, curators, and department store buyers travelled to the show and witnessed the flourishing of design. They were responsible for bringing the new styles to the United States in the form of museum exhibits and retail presentations.

In the 1930s’, Miami Beach was emerging form the Great Depression and hotel-building boom prompted architects to turn to the newly opened Chicago World’s Fair (‘A Century of Progress Exposition, 1833-1933’) for inspiration for the hotels and apartment buildings that today make up for the core of the Art Deco District.

The Miami Beach Architectural District is a living museum housing hundreds of architectural gems, with streamlined shapes and multitude of fancy, long forgotten elements. There are bas-relief decorative panels, chevron (zigzag) details, concrete stucco rails (decorative porch railing), iron railings, sunshades over windows, rounded corners, glass block or port hole windows, stepped facades, central vertical elements often with neon signage and scuppers (outlets in the side of a building for draining water from the flat roof) grouped in patterns.

Along the promenade, old buildings melt subtly into the modern ambience designed to resemble art deco features and to create homogenous vibe

It was a visual feast to stroll among those buildings on a sunny afternoon when shadows were casting additional patterns on already rich in ornament, white facades.

Marta

Photography:

• Marta Dabrowska

Bibliography:

• ‘A History of Interior Design’, John Pile, Laurence King Publishing Ltd. 2005

• ‘Lempicka’, Gilles Neret, Benedikt Taschen, 1993

• Art Deco Museum, Miami Beach, Florida

Permutations of White

‘People of refinement avoid vivid colours.’

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

There is a growing need for and appreciation of bright, uncluttered spaces in our culture. The lavishness of our lives, multitude of everyday actions, constant visual stimulation provokes us to build retreats, home sanctuaries, where we can calm down and breathe.

This inspires designers to search for purity, simplicity and minimalism in their work. And what can be simpler, cleaner and more assuring than white?

White paint can be made of many things: chalk, gesso, zinc oxide, titanium dioxide, barium, powdered lime, rice, fossilized sea creatures, burned lamb bones, seashells, eggshells, pearls, marble, alabaster, quartz or lead – the greatest and the cruellest of all whites.

In prehistoric times gesso and lime were the first whites available. Later, from Greece came the lead white – the perfect, famous and poisonous white. Toxic lead white was used by artists for hundreds of years before it was banned in the late 20th century. It was used not only as canvas primer and to create various colours and highlights, but also in the cosmetic industry with fatal consequences.

The modern whites are mostly made from zinc and titanium and they have replaced the lead white both in art and industry.

White has always been a controversial colour due to its ephemeral, bright, pure, seemingly cold, futuristic or lacking vibrancy qualities, but history of white is colourful and exciting.

In 1859 James McNeil Whistler arrived in London to make the name for himself as an artist. Coming form the different aesthetic background, he was horrified by the culture of the Victorian society – their food, their clothes and their bad taste in art. His inspiration came from the novel ‘The Woman in White’ published in London and written by Vicky Collins. The book was a sensation and Whistler used colour white to mock witless Victorian taste. He painted a series of paintings depicting women in white. On the pictures, both portrayed women and the background were covered with all shades of white, which baffled the general public but gave clues to the intellectual elite. Whistler enjoyed the controversy. Since that very moment white became his signature colour – he dressed in white and lived in the white house with a white dog, but the story goes on. In 1883 Whistler opened the exhibition of new pictures painted on his trip to Venice. He displayed the paintings on the white walls; the picture frames where white, the art work was monochrome and hanging so sparsely that the gallery felt empty. It was a discomforting and alien experience for the Victorian society who adored their knick-knack cluttered interiors.  But that was the precise intention. Art became exclusive for intellectuals and artistic elite.  Whistler called the exhibition a masterpiece of mischief and it became his lasting, powerful legacy. The white gallery spaces are almost compulsory in the art world today.

In 1925 Le Corbusier wrote the manifesto how architecture could cleanse the world. The secret weapon of the manifesto was Ripolin – a white emulsion paint. According to the manifesto, every citizen was required to cover the walls, floors, ceilings and furniture  in his house with a plain coat of Ripolin. White became the negation of the superfluous, Bourgeois decoration. White was the way to clean homes, minds, bodies and to regain integrity.  But white wasn’t just a colour, it was a message – a sign of transition from the old world to a new world. The villa Savoye is the perfect example of this change - pure forms and shapes fill the white, modernist space.

There are endless permutations of whites, off-whites, cool whites and warm whites heading toward ecru and bleached neutrals like a weathered wood or bone white.

White enhances the sense of space and makes the most of the available natural light, and space and light are two aspects we prize the most in our interiors. White can calm the noise, reflect and brighten the space and get rid of gloom.

White painted rooms seem bigger because it is difficult for the eye to focus and to find corners in blank white space. The difference between the floor, the wall and the ceiling disappears leaving no limits for the space.

But none of us lives in an empty white box. White is just a design element which helps us to find clarity in our interiors. The white colour scheme and sparsely decorated room is restful and allows the eye to slow down. Whitewashed walls create a neutral backdrop for the art and our colourful lives. Painting a space with a variety of whites can lead to a subtle and conceptual design.

An important thing is to find the right white responding to our personal taste and to the ambience.

Warmer, toned-down, ‘old whites’ are well suited for more classical interiors. Soft whites merge gracefully with old furniture or traditional decoration and match the long-established atmosphere of the house.

In the more eclectic interiors, with the mixture of new and old furniture pieces, bright whites can provide dramatic background to historical elements while keeping with the modern aspects of the interior.

Clean, clear whites are suitable for modern and ultra modern interiors. The white used in contemporary interiors should not divert into warm or cool colour direction as it could create an appearance of an old and dirty space.

The representation of true white is a plain, white copy paper – comparing it with the colour sample helps to choose the right colour for the interior.

The colour of some architectural elements, like windows for instance, can affect how we see the space. White window frames slow your eye down and keep your focus on the things within the room boundaries, which is a useful trick when the view outside is not particularly interesting. Currently however, in vogue are black window frames, which allow your eye to travel to the outside easily and they are great for bright rooms as they recede and demand little, creating a beautiful contrast to whitewashed walls. As everything in design this is a question of personal preferences. 

There is also a notion that elements like door frames, base boards, crown mouldings and chair rails should be painted white. This reduces the visual stimulation, eliminates the graphic, linear appearance created by the contrasting trims and unifies the spaces. This is particularly suitable for rooms with rich architectural ornamentation, where white calms the space down, but shadows add drama to it.

White is also the only colour to make bathroom plumbing fixtures to look elegant and understated…

Apart from the tone of white, the surface quality also affects how the white is perceived. In general, glossy surfaces reflect light and obscure colour, making the space visually stimulating. Dull surfaces absorb light and make colour to appear denser and the space calmer.

The typical nomenclature for the paint finish is as follows:

• Flat – looks powdery and has no shine at all. This is the best finish for hiding imperfections and emphasizing the colour. It is often used on ceilings.

• Matte – is a washable lowest-sheen paint. When dry, looks almost like flat paint but is resilient and mar-resistant when washed.

• Eggshell – has a low sheen and is used on the surfaces that are subject to occasional moisture and abuse (kitchens, bathrooms, kid’s rooms). It is easy to clean.

• Satin – it has a sheen, but it is not glossy. Popular finish for trims and cabinets. It is easy to clean and durable.

• Semigloss & High Gloss – add glamour to cabinets and floors, bounce the light off, emphasize every tiny imperfection. Surface preparation becomes more critical as the sheen level increases.

When searching for the right white for your home, it is good to refer to the whites which already give you a comfort and sparkle joy. Some might find cool white of subway tile pure and refreshing, whereas others would prefer warm white of washed linen. This is again, the matter of personal taste.

What I like the most about colours is how we tend to describe them referring to commonly known everyday objects. Salt white for instance is the whitest white, neutral, neither too cool and not too warm. The chalk white is a bit cooler than the salt white, with a grey undertone. The oat white is soft, warm and homely…

Marta

Photography:

Marta Dabrowska & via Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/redavocadodesign/permutations-of-white/

Bibliography:

‘Colour’, Victoria Finlay, Hodder and Stoughton, Great Britain 2002

‘The Right Color’, Eve Ashcraft, Artisan New York, 2011

‘Conran on Color’ Terence Conran, Conran Octopus Ltd, 2015, 2018

BBC ‘The History of Art in Three Colours – White’

White Marble

‘I found Rome a city of bricks and left it a city of marble.’

Augustus

Marble is considered to be a classical, elegant, durable, versatile and timeless material both for internal and external finishes.

Its smooth, rich in veining surface exposes sophisticated and natural beauty of the stone.

Its glowing, subtly translucent and full of light appearance ages with dignity .

Recently I had to do some research on white marble for the current project and I got totally hooked on its allure. Here I share what I found:

Marble quarries can be found in mountainous territories across Turkey, Greece and the US, but the most famous are located in southern Italy. One of the most renowned areas in Italy for marble is Carrara mountain region.

The use of marble in art, architecture and interior design dates back thousands of years to ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian cultures. From Latin ‘marmor’, from Greek ‘marmaros’, marble means gleaming stone or sparkling stone.

Marble is a metamorphic rock, a limestone that is crystallized by metamorphism. The white marble is formed from the purest limestone and it comes in a all shades of white adorned with delicate, varying in tone, grey veins – like Carrara marble (greyer softer veining) and Calacatta marble (whiter background with bolder veining).

The marble finish can be honed, polished or sandblasted. 

A honed finish is satin, smooth, with relatively little reflection of light. It appears flat and lighter in colour. 

A polished finish has a glossy surface that reflects light and emphasizes the colour and veins of the stone.

A sandblasted finish enhances the natural look of stone, it reminds traditional finishes such as bush hammering. A sandblasted finish can be used for decorative motifs or on exterior paving where a non-slip finish is required.

Marble can be book-matched. Book-matching refers to matching two or more slabs of stone, so that the two adjoining surfaces mirror each other, like an opened book. Usually, slabs are cut and laid flat ready to be polished. When slabs are book-matched, instead of polishing the same side of each slab, they’re polished on opposite sides. When book-matched slabs are placed next to each other, they open up like a book and show a mirror image of each other.

Book-matching exposes the material at its most statement-making aspect and it should be treated as creating a piece of art. However beautiful, book-matching is often more expensive than standard marble application because of layout restrictions. It is a time-consuming, labour-intensive and wasteful process.

The average marble slab sizes are between 90"L x 60"W and 110"L x 70" W. The industry standard slab thickness is ¾’’ (20mm) or 1 ¼’’ (30mm).

Marble can be applied to walls, floors, columns, stairs, kitchen countertops or mantelpieces. Marble is also a good furniture material and can be used for bathtubs, sinks, tables or benches. It comes in big slabs or tiles in a variety of sizes.

PROS:

• Use of marble can instantly elevate the appearance of a space, giving it a sophisticated charm, classic, elegant and timeless beauty

• Marble is unique -  every single piece of marble tile is a one of a kind

• Marble has a natural look. Even if the material is heavily refined, there is an inherent feel and presence of nature connecting to the outside world.

• Marble has its natural translucent property that allows light to penetrate through it slightly and to make it glow.

• Marble is a great conductor of heat, making it suitable for a variety of below surface radiant heating systems to be installed.

• Marble comes in all sizes and shapes. Tiles can be cut to squares, rectangles, and triangles of varying sizes in order to create complex mosaic piece installations.

• Marble is widely available from nearly any stone fabricator or stone yard.

CONS:

• Marble can be scratched, scraped, and chipped easily under the wrong conditions and the scratches can not be easily repaired without replacing the damaged material completely

• Marble can easily stain (it is base on the PH scale, which means that it will have a chemical reaction whenever it comes in contact with acidic substances). This can include a wide variety of foods, beverages and cleaning products. The discoloration stains that come from these processes are permanent

• Marble is prone to water and liquids penetration due to its porous texture. This can be prevented by applying below and above surface chemical sealers

• Being relatively soft, marble floor tiles can suffer from cracking, breaks, and chips

• When polished, marble can become an extremely slick and slippery surface (especially if the material gets wet), which may be a hazard for accidental falls

• Marble is expensive.  Prices fall on the high-end range as far as natural stone costs, while having a shorter lifespan than harder, more durable materials like slate and granite. Carrara marble is one of the least expensive types of marble. 

Marta

Images: via Pinterest:

https://www.pinterest.com/redavocadodesign/white-marble/

Anni Albers – Essential Textiles

‘The things that have lasted and the things that will last are never subject to a quick fashion.’

Anni Albers

I write in order to remember. Simple journaling on design and architecture helps me to recall experiences and learn more. I want to write in English, because I think in English, I read in English and I find this language extremely adaptable to the needs of any immigrant. So forgive me for this amateurish manner of writing and enjoy the facts and the picks.

I like simplicity, and that is what I am going to write here about. Humble, plain and natural materials. Subdued colours.  Right proportions, clear structure, understandable ideas. Order and moderation in everything. I am often inspired by readings, exhibitions and places I go. When I design I think about opening up the space, about breathing and quietness. No hustle, no clutter, only what is necessary.

I had read Anni Albers’ ‘Selected Writings on Design’ before I saw the exhibition in Tate Modern in London. I was enchanted by the clear rhythm of her writing and carefully thought through sentences. I was inspired myself to try to write in English, as she did when she moved from Germany to the USA in 1933, when Nazi forced the Bauhaus school to close.

She was the artist who found inspiration in clarity and plainness. She believed that: ‘we must find our way back to simplicity of conception in order to find ourselves. For only by simplicity can we experience meaning, and only by experiencing meaning can we become qualify for independent comprehension.

Through her life she was endlessly inspired by Andean pre-Columbian weavers, something I am myself familiar with through my many trips to South America. In her writings ‘she revered ancient craft people and especially the early Andean weavers for the indigenous ways they produced objects of great beauty from extremely limited resources.’ Her textiles have a notion to be read in that way – simple, with limited colours, meditative and very sophisticated.

Before reading her writings I had never thought about textiles as structures based on orthogonal grid. I thought they are soft, feminine unrestrained and random. I did not spend much time considering them essential when designing interiors. I was wrong. 

Anni Albers exhibition in Tate Modern opened my eyes for the entire new world of possibilities which are the result of endless combinations between the rigid grid of vertical warps and horizontal wefts and the soft substance of yarns.

And I adore grid. Grid was among the first things I learned as an architectural student; how to divide space and turn ideas into reality by using grid. Grid creates proportions and alignment, helps us to understand the volume, to justify it. Grid minimises the visual noise. Grid is meditative. Grid is full of possibilities. Grid is simply.

Anni Albers herself explains the importance of the grid in textiles production: ‘the weaving workshop developed its own distinctive language, making use of the grid structure of weaving emphasising haptic and tactile qualities’.

In her writings, the artist also constantly refers to architecture. She refers to the both crafts; textiles and architecture as ancient ‘older even than pottery and metalwork. In early stages they had in common the purpose of providing shelter, one for a settled life, the other for a life of wandering, a nomadic life’. She also emphasises, that ‘the essentially structural principles that relate the work of building and weaving could form the basis of a new understanding between the architect and the inventive weaver.’

During her life Albers worked on many architectural commissions. She designed several room dividers, decorative drapery fabrics, and textiles for every day use in interiors, such as bed throws or curtains. She thought about textiles as integral architectural elements, with intention to use them in architectural forms, like sound-absorbing panels, or equivalent of solid walls.

Her work was created for purpose, without abundance of decoration and unnecessary ornamentation. I like what she wrote about knick-knacks we produce nowadays: ‘We continue to decorate, searching for aesthetic pleasure, though the conditions of work have changed. Without adding new form values, we obscure the function of things by decorating them. Our decorating today is frequently only camouflage; we make bookends representing animals, vases for flowers themselves resembling flowers. Through decorating we have also learned the trick of hiding a poor material under a rich pattern.’ Her art, or craft if we prefer to call it, is filled with standards we hardly think about today. High quality materials, balanced design, function, elegance and simplicity.

Wholeness wasn’t an Utopian dream for Anni Albers. As an excellent designer she understood ‘the need for the functioning of a thing and the need for appearance that responds to our sense of form.’ And  ‘this complete form is not a mixture of functional form with decoration, ornament, or an extravagant shape; it is an coalition of form answering practical need and form answering aesthetic needs.’

This words sound like a design manifesto but they should be considered every time we embark on a new design journey. Function, quality, simplicity.

Luckily, for us designers we can not only boast to our sophisticated clients about the inspiration we derive from the old masters but also we can implement their timeless ideas into our contemporary designs. As Anni Albers wrote: ‘It is easy to invent the extravagant, the pretentious, and the exciting; but these are passing, leaving in us only neurotic aimlessness. The things that have lasted and the things that will last are never subject to a quick fashion.’ Hence, many contemporary artist and craftsmen create collections based on this classic examples of ageless ideas.

Christopher Farr has a collection of rugs by Anni Albers design: https://christopherfarr.com/designer/anni-albers/

Beatrice Larkin has created a collection for the Anni Albers exhibition in Tate Modern: http://www.beatricelarkin.com/

Marta

Images:

Marta Dabrowska & Jenia Tevelev

Bibliography:

• Anni Albers’ ‘Selected Writings on Design’, Wesleyan University Press, Published by University Press New England, Hanover & London, 2000

• Anni Albers, Tate Modern,  11 October 2018 – 27 January 2019