Contemporary: Architecture and Interiors of the 1950s

This book provides a full definition and examination of the so-called Contemporary style that dominated architecture and design from the late 1940s and throughout the 1950s. It was an era of optimism and confidence, where the new ideas in architecture and design flourished alongside - and were nurtured by - the emergent consumer culture. The Contemporary style was fresh and liberating, manifesting itself in the picture window and the open plan; in vibrant fabric design and printed wall coverings; in new forms of furniture from Scandinavia and stylish light fittings from Italy; and most tellingly in the Contemporary kitchen with its fitted units and mod con appliances. Far more than a collection of Fifties nostalgia, this book provides an entertaining and revealing survey of trends in taste and interior design at the time of economic regeneration that affected not only people's homes, but their communities and their public buildings.