Sherri Stewart
Have you ever been to South Florida in the summer when the air conditioning system breaks down? I have. In the middle of the night, we stood outside under a hose trying to cool off. I was miserable, which made me wonder—how did people in Florida manage to keep cool before there was air conditioning? One answer: Art Deco.
The Art Deco hotels of South Beach have brought vacationers
and celebrities to its beaches and restaurants since the Roaring Twenties,
although the hotels suffered a decline between the sixties and the eighties
when residents couldn’t keep up with the high cost of maintenance, and unsavory
types hung out on the streets. Think Scarface. However, South Beach
enjoyed a rebirth when Miami Vice was filmed in the area and
fashion designer Versace moved into a mansion on Ocean Drive.
https:/www.harpersbazaar.com
Most of the Art Deco
buildings in Miami were built during the 1930s and 1940s and were considered to
be part of the second wave of Art Deco known as Streamline Moderne. With
tropical seaside influences, Miami’s Art Deco buildings were characterized by
pastel colors, floral and aquatic embellishments, and nautical designs
reminiscent of ocean liners. However, Art Deco had another purpose before the
invention of air conditioning: to keep its people cool. Here are a few of Art
Deco characteristics that are both aesthetic and functional.
https://www.miamiandbeaches.com/hotels/art-deco-architecture-boutique-hotels
The
Law of Three:
Hotels were often three stories tall and the facades were divided into three. In
truth, most buildings were limited to three stories because city codes at the
time required anything higher to have an elevator, a considerable construction
and maintenance cost. However, we all know that heat rises, so the shorter the
building, the cooler its occupants.
https://theculturetrip.com/north-america/usa/florida/articles/a-visual-guide-to-miamis-art-deco-tk-hed/
White
Facades with Pastel Highlights: Although the shapes of the buildings were
geometric, the palettes of the buildings were meant to reflect the environment
they existed in: clouds, water, and flora. Of course, we know that dark colors
absorb more heat than light colors, so the lighter pastels kept folks cool
before air conditioning was de rigeur.
https://fineartamerica.com/featured/miami-art-deco-drive-architecture-blue-peskymonkey.html
Eyebrows: Horizontal blocks
of reinforced concrete above each window that seemed like unfinished balconies were
essential to the compositional movement of Art Deco. More importantly, eyebrows
provided shade over each window to block the sun, which kept rooms cooler.
www.fodors.com
Terrazzo
Floors:
If you ask politely, the hotel staffs will often let you step into their
lobbies to appreciate the geometric terrazzo floor patterns. But terrazzo has a
cool function. Standing on one such floor in your bare feet will cool you off
in no time.
https://www.dezeen.com
Windowed Corners: While ocean breezes helped to cool
down things, sometimes the hotels were too far from the ocean to benefit from
the breeze. Art Deco architects created corners, so residents could open up
windows to create cross breezes on each side.
https://www.architecturaldigest.com/gallery/art-deco-hotels-miami
Talcum powder, paper fans, and glasses of iced tea helped many a Southern belle keep cool, but the relentless heat and glare of the south Florida sun required extra help to keep its patrons from becoming overheated. Art Deco was cool in more ways than one.
Sherri Stewart loves a clean novel, sprinkled with romance and a strong message that challenges her faith. She spends her working hours with books—either editing others’ manuscripts or writing her own. Her passion is traveling to the settings of her books and sampling the food. She loves the Netherlands, and she’s still learning Dutch, although she doesn’t need to since everyone speaks perfect English. A recent widow, Sherri lives in Orlando with her lazy dog, Lily. She shares recipes, tidbits of the book’s locations, and pix in her newsletter. Subscribe at http://eepurl.com/gZ-mv9
A Song for Her Enemies https://amzn.to/2YJBkRn
Thanks for the post! I never realized the different facets of Art Deco architecture before this, I just thought people with too much money were being fancy! Thanks for researching this!
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading.
DeleteWhat a fascinating post! Although unversed on all the style names and eras, I love looking at different architecture. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteIt's a unique style, a rebellion against the stuffiness of Victorian
ReplyDelete