art deco
A style of the 1920s and 1930s featuring streamlined shapes and restricted ornamentation.
Pictured: Chrysler Building
Art Deco is a style with roots in the verticality of Gothic architecture but leaning toward the simplicity of modernism. It normally uses very spare decoration on large surfaces, although the form of the surfaces can be decorative, and profusions of ornament are often found in select areas of the design.
Art Deco uses setbacks to reduce building mass and to emphasize verticality. Unlike wedding cake buildings, their shapes recede from the street gracefully, not in tiers but in gentler and more carefully positioned steps. Limestone is the most common cladding material, with brick, tile, terra-cotta, and stucco facades also very common.
Approximate Dates: 1920 to 1940
