Mid-Century architecture roughly dates from 1933 to 1965. Many mark the beginning of the movement with Frank Lloyd Wright’s Robie House and the Bauhaus movement. Scandinavian architecture, organic forms, integration with nature, and simplicity make the mid-century architecture unique to its time.
For those not familiar with Mid-Century architecture, Visual Acoustics is a great documentary film that portrays the boldness of the era through the work of Julius Shulman, one of the greatest architectural photographers of the time. Shulman was commissioned by iconic architects including Richard Neutra, John Lautner, Rudolf Schindler, and Gregory Aln, and retained close personal relationships with them. His photographs are iconic pieces of the ‘Southern California Image,’ and for many of the structures they serve as the only evidence left of the original designs.
The film poster is from Shulman’s most prized photo, The Stahl House, by Pierre Koenig. The Stahl House was one of 36 designs built as part of the Case Study Homes, which was an experiment by architects to create inexpensive efficient homes in the mid 1900’s during the US residential house boom. We are happy to add that the Stahl House is not only intact but has been preserved by its first resident!
It seems that the basic principles of the Modernist movement have gotten somewhat confused in the 21st century. On the one hand they’ve become codified and simplified into a commercialized nostalgia. And on the other, co-opted or dismissed in the jumbled aftermath of Post-Modernism. This film is both primer and reminder of the boldness and excitement of Mid-Century architecture.