6.53
THEORY OF
ARCHITECTURE I
ARCH 4591
Instructor: Lewi
Tsegaye
ADDIS COLLEGE
DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN PLANNING

CONTENT
2
Art Deco
 Origin of Art Deco
 Characteristics
 Architects
 Examples

ART DECO
1920S to 1930S 3

ORIGIN OF ART DECO
• Art Deco is a modernist architectural
style that first appeared in France
1920s through to the early-1930s.
• Art Deco first came to public attention
in 1922 when Finnish architect Eliel
Saarinen entered a design
competition for the Chicago Tribune
Headquarters. Although it didn’t win,
the style was widely publicized as
being new and exciting.
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ORIGIN OF ART DECO
• The Art Deco style was seen
throughout Paris in the early 1920s
but made its first official
appearance in 1925 at the
Exposition “International Exhibition of
Modern Decorative and Industrial
Arts”
• Paris is home to many early
examples of Art Deco architecture.
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ORIGIN OF ART DECO
• In the US, the American Radiator
Building is the earliest Art Deco building
from 1924.
• In the early 1930s, famous architects in
US started to design Art Deco buildings.
• The Empire State Building, Rockefeller
Center, and the Chrysler building are all
examples of Art Deco architecture in New
York.
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• The aesthetic was careful to balance
opulence and practicality.
• Art Deco architecture represents a
style of building that is sleek, but not
minimal.
• Art Deco began to grow in popularity
and became a commonly adopted
style for buildings such as theatres,
cinemas, commercial buildings,
government buildings, apartments,
industrial complexes, and skyscrapers.
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CHARACTERISTICS

CHARACTERISTICS
• Modern and traditional
building materials: Art Deco
buildings utilized materials
like stucco, terracotta,
decorative glass, chrome,
steel, and aluminum.
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CHARACTERISTICS
• Ornate, geometric
detailing: Various themes
and ornamental details were
applied to a building.
• Some common Art Deco
motifs include chevrons,
pyramids, stylized
sunbursts or florals, zig-
zags, and other geometric
shapes.
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CHARACTERISTICS
• Bold use of contrasting
colors: Bright, opulent colors
are synonymous with the Art
Deco period.
• Buildings incorporated stark
colors like black and white or
gold and silver to create
contrast.
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CHARACTERISTICS
• Consistent detailing: similar
Art Deco elements on both
the exterior and interior so
that each building carried out
a consistent theme.
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CHARACTERISTICS
• Decorative, geometric windows:
Windows are decorated with geometric
designs.
• The windows could be glass block or a
series of opaque glass inserts and were
often positioned in a long, horizontal row.
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Decorative, geometric

CHARACTERISTICS
• Parapets and spires: Corners
of buildings were often
decorated with tower-like
structures that would make a
simple square building seem
more opulent.
• Predominantly used in buildings
and commercial places.
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ART DECO INFLUENCE
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ART DECO INFLUENCE
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The Empire State Building Rockefeller Center Chrysler building

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Cincinnati Times Star Building

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Fiat Tagliero Building, Asmara, Eritrea, 1938, Giuseppe
Pettazzi

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Ras Hotel, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia,
1950s

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Electric building, Piassa, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Baklava Bet, Piassa, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

ART DECO
ARCHITECTS
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William Van Alen Raymond Hood
Claud Beelman
Eastern Columbia Lofts
Rockefeller Center
The Empire State Building

THANK YOU