googie
Jazzy and futuristic architecture of the 1950s and 1960s evoking the Space Age.
Pictured: 5600 Biscayne Boulevard
Googie architecture is a futuristic or ultramodern derivative of art moderne and International Style architecture, originating in California in the late 1940s. While using the materials and design vocabulary of other contemporary styles, its jaunty forms and bold streamlining evoked a highly optimistic aspiration to an imagined future of advanced technology.
Buildings in the Googie style often feature projecting fins, extravagant swooping lines, machine-like shapes, wide ledges, bubble shapes, and very large plate glass windows. The style spread from southern California to other areas in the United States, Brazil, and elsewhere experiencing rapid growth around the expansion of automobile travel.
Googie design was frequently used for motels, fast food restaurants, and suburban houses and shopping centers.Not only buildings but also advertising signs are widely associated with this style.
Approximate Dates: 1950 to 1970
googie Photos
Related definitions
-
art deco
A style of the 1920s and 1930s featuring streamlined shapes and restricted ornamentation. -
art moderne
A streamlined architectural development of Art Deco, with smooth forms, rounded corners, and little applied ornament. -
art nouveau
An idiosyncratic style of the early 20th century based on naturalistic and highly imaginative forms and decoration. -
arts and crafts
Architecture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries which emphasizes the handmade or non-industrial features of its design. -
brutalist
Modern architecture using heavy and massive forms, preferring an appearance of strength to elegance. -
chicago school
A pre-modern style that emphasizes the simplicity and modular regularity of a building's skeletal framework. -
deconstructivist
Architecture which mixes a modernist vocabulary with an anti-rational flair. -
early modern
A transition between art moderne and standard modernism, often with traces of neoclassical features. -
expressionist
Architecture rooted in early 20th century Germany with bold simple forms and effusions of angular or organic lines. -
folk art
Fantastic or unconventional architecture which relies on crafted ornamentation and non-standardized forms. -
international style
High modernism of the 1950s-1970s, characterized by simple forms and spacious interiors. -
modern
Architecture from the mid-20th century onwards, with simple forms suited to mass production of building materials. -
prairie school
Architecture influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright, with natural materials and broad horizontal lines. -
shingle style
A domestic style characterized by simple lines, broad gables, gentle curves, and rustic materials. -
structural expressionist
Architecture which gives the appearance of high technology by emphasizing its structural elements.