Undecorating Art Deco

Given that it was once deeply out of fashion and didn’t even receive its name until the late 1960s, the Art Deco style of architecture has proved surprisingly durable. Known for its streamlined forms, bright colors, and imaginative flourishes, Art Deco is more fluid and eclectic than the rigid International Style that emerged in the same period. This style of the 1920s and ’30s is widely loved almost a century later.

Designers at Hollwich Kushner, a New York architecture firm, noticed that many of the city’s major landmarks—the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, the Waldorf-Astoria—were Deco buildings. Curious about what gives the style its enduring appeal, they came up with an experiment: What if they tried redesigning these historic buildings for today, using contemporary techniques and materials?