Atomic Ranch Design Issue 2023

WHEN HANS WEGNER WAS AT THE BEACH ONE DAY IN 1949, he began digging in the sand to create the perfect slant for the most comfortable repose. When he found it, he used its angle and shape to create the Flag Halyard chair. In the early 1950s, when Arne Jacobsen wanted to challenge himself with newly available technology that eschewed steel and wood framing for sculptable hard foam, he gravitated toward the most pure and natural shape he could think of that took advantage of an amorphous shape: the egg. Charles and Ray Eames designed a molded plastic chair to answer the challenge of creating a piece of furniture out of one single piece of material. And Irving Harper, attempting to prove that furniture could be mass-produced and customizable, created…

HOUSE TOUR: VISIT A JAPANESE HOME IN LA In the Los Angeles neighborhood of Mount Washington, a 1955 house has been transformed into an MCM Ryokan-inspired home. Take a tour of this tranquil and inspiring home. RETRO ROAD TRIP: MEXICO’S NATIONAL MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY The National Museum of Anthropology is Mexico City’s largest and most popular museum. Learn about the extraordinary collections it houses as well as its incredible team of MCM architects. COOL STUFF: BITOSSI AND BEYOND, A GUIDE TO MCM CERAMICS From sculptural art for your shelves to functional designs for your dining table, Mid Century Modern ceramics are an iconic collectible. Learn about collecting or gifting these timeless pieces. MOD INDEX: WALTER GROPIUS, VISIONARY FOUNDER OF BAUHAUS Learn more about the career of Walter Gropius, who founded…

BOOKSHELVES: CHAIRS: DESKS: SOFAS:…

WHEN HOMEOWNERS ANDREA AND MARK BRIMMER DECIDED they wanted to raise their family in a Mid Century Modern home, they knew that they would have to build it themselves. “We have both always loved mid-century design,” Andrea says. “For us, it brings back the joy and happiness of our childhood.” They purchased a two-acre lot surrounded by woods next to Lake Ponemah in Fenton, Michigan, to make their dream a reality. They sent an email to architect Karl Jasinski—a fellow enthusiast of MCM architecture and design—in the hopes that he would respond. “Literally one hour later, he replied to our email and attached sketches of both the exterior and interior of the home,” Andrea says. “He was clearly as excited as we were!” Andrea and Mark hired Elin Walters of…

FROM KEY ART TO TITLE SEQUENCES, American-born graphic artist and filmmaker Saul Bass is the godfather of motion design for cinema. Born and raised in the Bronx, New York, in 1920, he was the son of Eastern European Jewish immigrants. As a student, Bass began working with a Manhattan ad agency. His first jobs were designing movie posters for one of the agency’s biggest clients: Warner Bros. Studios. By the 1940s, Bass made the move to Hollywood and began designing print advertising for such films as “Champion,” “The Moon is Blue” and “Death of a Salesman,” all films by controversial director Otto Preminger. Preminger, known for his use of off-limit topics and taboos for his films, was highly impressed with Bass’ work. It was here that Bass was introduced to…

THE FERVOR FOR FUTURISM during the post-war design boom is perhaps most distilled in Googie-style architecture. To appreciate its impact on the average citizen, look to Los Angeles and the buildings designed by Armet Davis Newlove Architects. Michael Murphy along with prolific architectural historian Alan Hess chronicle the journey from drafting table to drive-up in their book Googie Modern: Architectural Drawings of Armet Davis Newlove. “For the price of a hamburger or a tuna melt, ordinary Angelenos could be a part of the future at any Googie coffee shop,” Hess writes. Indeed, the firm’s specialty in coffee shops, diners and eateries such as Denny’s, Big Boy’s and Norm’s popularized the Space Age archetype. “Googie expanded the concept of Modernism in three significant ways: it is fundamentally democratic as part of…