Course Details
951: The Way We Were: Mid-Century Modern in America
July 6-10
11:45 AM -
1:15 PM
Online
Beginning in the late 1940’s, the design of houses, and the objects inside them, underwent a sea-change. The country’s economy was growing after years of depression and war-time rationing. Rounded forms and open, airy spaces, new materials and a new focus on family life marked those postwar years. Mid-century architecture in America began on the west coast and moved east. Noted designers produced exciting new furniture, and household items. European influences mixed with American sensibilities to create, and furnish, the ever-expanding suburbs that grew around our major cities. The course will examine mid-century modern architecture and design, as well as the designers who created some of the period’s most iconic examples of the genre. This study group has a high class size capacity.
Class Type: Lecture and Discussion
Class Format: Online
Hours of Reading: No reading
Study Group Leader(s):
Jeffrey SwogerJeffrey Swoger is a retired graphic designer who has spent years studying other facets of design— architecture, and product design. The product of a Bauhaus-style education, he is acutely aware of, and sensitive to, form, materials, and geometry. In his work, he stressed clean, simple solutions that communicated in a clear, well-organized, and easy to digest manner. He enjoys passing on his love of architecture and design to OLLI members at Carnegie Mellon University, The University of Pittsburgh, and American University.