Journey Into Space Age Design With This Photographic Volume

Book: Space Age Design: Icons of the Space Age Design Movement by Peter Martin
Berlin: teNeues, $75.00
256 pages, 220 images (200 color)

This photographic volume explores the profound impact of the space race on design, architecture, fashion, and culture from the mid-20th century to today. The author, seasoned journalist and editor, Peter Martin details how the launch of Sputnik in 1957 sparked a global wave of futuristic design, with such furnishings as Verner Panton’s 1969 VP globe pendant and Michel Ducaroy’s 1973 Togo modular sofa for Ligne Roset reflecting the era’s optimism for and fascination with space travel. Featuring more than 200 images, both recognizable and rare archival finds, the pages also showcase work by George Nelson, Pierre Paulin, Eero Saarinen, and even NASA’s very own in-house team.

Martin goes on to examine how a “cosmic touch” influenced everyday life, from clothing to public spaces like the 1971 “Flying Saucer” building in Kiev by Ukrainian architect and painter Florian Yuriev, and how new materials like plastic and fiberglass revolutionized possibilities. For him, NASA’s Challenger Disaster in 1986 marked the end of the period’s intense creative energy characterized by utopian dreams and revolutionary products. His book not only provides a gateway to a bygone world of exuberance but also recontextualizes its most innovative minds.