Architecture
Postmodern Design: What is It, Really?
Brush up on your knowledge of postmodern design as it may be back in fashion very soon
If fashion is cyclical then we could very well soon be seeing the return of postmodern design. For some time now, we’ve been rejoicing in the clean, organic and minimalist lines of the mid-twentieth century. And the colourful 1960s and retro 1970s have also made a bit of a show. But how about those flashy, extravagant 1980s?
You never know what you might find at a Salvo’s or flea market, so here’s a guide to some of the dominant characteristics of postmodernism (aka PoMo). And if you’re looking for some cinematic inspiration, revisit Oliver Stone’s Wall Street (1987), and check out Charlie Sheen’s apartment – it’s the epitome of postmodern design.
You never know what you might find at a Salvo’s or flea market, so here’s a guide to some of the dominant characteristics of postmodernism (aka PoMo). And if you’re looking for some cinematic inspiration, revisit Oliver Stone’s Wall Street (1987), and check out Charlie Sheen’s apartment – it’s the epitome of postmodern design.
2. Bold colours and outrageous patterns
Postmodern design is often characterised by saturated colours, loud patterns and strong contrasts. Designers never intended their objects to be part of an everlasting fashion; rather they were flashy, faddish and ephemeral. Like these stairs, postmodernism catches your attention rather than blends into the background.
See more photos of this home
Postmodern design is often characterised by saturated colours, loud patterns and strong contrasts. Designers never intended their objects to be part of an everlasting fashion; rather they were flashy, faddish and ephemeral. Like these stairs, postmodernism catches your attention rather than blends into the background.
See more photos of this home
3. Transforms the ordinary and everyday
Postmodern designers applied colour, pattern and ornament to transform ordinary, everyday objects into objects of visual contemplation.
This very simple door – encircled by a red frame, and with blue square windows puncturing the wall above – turns an otherwise ordinary facade into something more aesthetically intriguing and exciting.
Postmodern designers applied colour, pattern and ornament to transform ordinary, everyday objects into objects of visual contemplation.
This very simple door – encircled by a red frame, and with blue square windows puncturing the wall above – turns an otherwise ordinary facade into something more aesthetically intriguing and exciting.
4. Form doesn’t follow function
Architectural elements and components of objects are often superfluous and there only for decoration or to make a visual statement.
For instance, these turquoise trusses are purely ornamental with no structural ability to reinforce the ceiling whatsoever.
Architectural elements and components of objects are often superfluous and there only for decoration or to make a visual statement.
For instance, these turquoise trusses are purely ornamental with no structural ability to reinforce the ceiling whatsoever.
5. Turns cheap materials into expensive objects
In a reversal of hierarchies, postmodern design transforms cheap, everyday materials into expensive objects. Plastic, laminates and cardboard are some of the key materials used, and through individual design become quite pricey.
Frank Gehry used cardboard for his ‘Wiggle’ side chair (1972). While it barely looks like it would hold someone, it is in fact quite robust and sturdy. But just because it’s cardboard, don’t think this one is going for cheap – it has made its way into museums and design institutions across the world.
In a reversal of hierarchies, postmodern design transforms cheap, everyday materials into expensive objects. Plastic, laminates and cardboard are some of the key materials used, and through individual design become quite pricey.
Frank Gehry used cardboard for his ‘Wiggle’ side chair (1972). While it barely looks like it would hold someone, it is in fact quite robust and sturdy. But just because it’s cardboard, don’t think this one is going for cheap – it has made its way into museums and design institutions across the world.
6. Mixes popular culture and high culture
Postmodern designers also sought to disrupt hierarchies of pop culture and high culture by combining references, images and forms of each together.
Here, Dust Furniture’s ‘Trophy Wife’ (2012) combines a traditional cabinet with a Disney-like shelving unit in a melding of contradictory and nostalgic forms.
Postmodern designers also sought to disrupt hierarchies of pop culture and high culture by combining references, images and forms of each together.
Here, Dust Furniture’s ‘Trophy Wife’ (2012) combines a traditional cabinet with a Disney-like shelving unit in a melding of contradictory and nostalgic forms.
7. Symbolic and historic references
Form was whatever postmodern designers wanted it to be, as it had little to do with function. They reintroduced symbolism back into architecture, playing with expressive forms that had been abandoned by modernist designers. They mined history for whimsical forms and applied them to unexpected objects, as in this balustrade – ornamented with medieval spire-shaped columns that look like they should adorn a church rather than a pool house.
Form was whatever postmodern designers wanted it to be, as it had little to do with function. They reintroduced symbolism back into architecture, playing with expressive forms that had been abandoned by modernist designers. They mined history for whimsical forms and applied them to unexpected objects, as in this balustrade – ornamented with medieval spire-shaped columns that look like they should adorn a church rather than a pool house.
8. Humour, irony, whimsy, wit, pastiche and parody
Pick a word from any of the above – postmodern design is meant to make you think; reinterpret what you know about objects, architecture and hierarchies; and even make you laugh (as long as you’re in on the joke!).
This cat bed has four abstract, chess-shaped posts, which are completely unnecessary to its design. However, they transform it into a grand ‘four-post bed’ – because as we know, the cat is always the King of the castle. Checkmate, kitty cat.
How to make space for humour at home
Pick a word from any of the above – postmodern design is meant to make you think; reinterpret what you know about objects, architecture and hierarchies; and even make you laugh (as long as you’re in on the joke!).
This cat bed has four abstract, chess-shaped posts, which are completely unnecessary to its design. However, they transform it into a grand ‘four-post bed’ – because as we know, the cat is always the King of the castle. Checkmate, kitty cat.
How to make space for humour at home
9. Celebrates surface
PoMo shuns minimalist design and celebrates ornament; however, it is always applied to the surface and therefore has no true depth. Therefore, rather than meaning, value and content, postmodernism emphasises appearances and superficiality, as can be seen in this metallic pediment with textured glass doors affixed to the door frame of a dining room.
PoMo shuns minimalist design and celebrates ornament; however, it is always applied to the surface and therefore has no true depth. Therefore, rather than meaning, value and content, postmodernism emphasises appearances and superficiality, as can be seen in this metallic pediment with textured glass doors affixed to the door frame of a dining room.
So, put it all together, and what do you have? A postmodern, eccentric, eclectic, kitsch masterpiece, for your aesthetic contemplation and visual pleasure.
But on their own, postmodern objects are simply great conversation starters! One popular example is Michael Graves’ whistling bird kettle, marketed by Alessi in 1985, and re-marketed (in a cheaper version) by Target in 1999. Its silver form and rivets reference an elegant tea service set by famed German designer Josef Hoffman (c. 1910), while the red bird is a whimsical touch.
TELL US
What are your thoughts on Postmodern design? Would you incorporate elements in your home?
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TELL US
What are your thoughts on Postmodern design? Would you incorporate elements in your home?
MORE STORIES
Defining Scandinavian Architecture
Cantilevered Architecture: Finding Balance With Daring Design
Edge of the Earth: 4 Homes That Defy Expectations
The Evolution of the 1960s Beachcomber House to Today’s Platform Home
In the 1970s and through the 1980s, postmodern designers sought to break out of the stifling rules and rationality of modernism. They threw formality, universal taste, and seriousness out the window; and instead they combined bold, flashy, and faddish objects with eclectic interiors, and expressive, symbolic architecture.
9 CHARACTERISTICS OF POSTMODERN DESIGN
1. ‘Complexity and Contradiction’
Nothing is simple in postmodern design and almost everything is a twist on forms and symbolism. An early example of this is the Vanna Venturi House (1964, Pennsylvania) by Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown. In a neighbourhood filled with stone houses and Victorian mansions, the Vanna Venturi House is a standout. It is a reaction against modernism’s rigid architectural rules with broken lines, unnecessary ornamentation, awkward angles, asymmetric form and experiments in scale.