Above: Exhibit from the 1970 Cologne Furniture Fair showing pieces designed by Kartell, Herman Miller, and lamps (the large white mushrooms) by Verner Panton.
Looking as if they were meant to to float in zero gravity, designs of the latter part of the 1960’s and early 1970’s reflected the optimism and enthusiasm that came from the perceived conquest of space. In the 1960’s ‘the future’ appeared to dominate the collective imagination of designers and architects the world over. Designed not only to be simply more technological, they also borrowed forms, colors, and materials from the iconography and lexicon of space travel and science fiction. This new style, made possible by new materials like plastics and fiberglass, would become known as ‘Futurism’, but it is more often referred to simply as ‘Space Age’. Designers and manufacturers produced lamps that looked like missiles and satellites, orb-shaped TV’s that looked like an astronaut’s helmet, and soft foam-form seating seemingly more appropriate for a space station than one’s living room.
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Advert for Wetron radio and stereos reflective of the space age, even set on a ‘moonscape’, 1960’s.
Advert for Frigidaire. Even manufactures of household appliances were keen to embrace the space age.
Looking like an astronaut’s helmet the ‘Videospere’ was introduced by JVC in the late 1960’s.
Perfect for your own Moon Base Alpha this line of furniture was designed by Alberto Roseli for Saporiti of Italy in the 1960’s. Photo: Domus
In the works of designers such as Verner Panton, Eero Aarnio, and Joe Colombo, rigid forms and angular corners gave way to soft rounded shapes with an organic feel. Because of the ease with which it could be molded into new and exciting shapes and colors, plastic triumphed over other materials with sleek, curvaceous objects became the new design norm. This period of design – which was more popular in Europe (particularly in Italy) than the rest of the world – was brief, bright, and bold and left behind shiny talismans from a time when the future was a promise, and just around the corner. We don’t look to the future with the same optimism these days and perhaps contemporary design reflects this. Who knows?
While there are many designs that fit the ‘Space Age’ style let’s just look at some of the lighting. Here are just a handful of the lamps from the future. Click on image for full view.
Lighting for your own personal Moonbase. The ‘Sorella’ lamps, produced by Artimide of Italy in the 1960’s, as seen the cult Sci Fi TV favorite Space: 1999
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