The poetics of modern design : from the grain elevators to theproduction of Design in the first half of the twentieth century

Abstract

The shape of the Grain Elevators characterized the formation of the consciousness of the visionary, functionalist, and machinist class of the first half of the twentieth century. Through the study of the evolution model o f the Grain Elevators, of the examples built in Buffalo, USA, and the analysis of modern design objects, we intend to establish a relationship between the shape of gr ain elevators and the shape of modern design objects in order to understand whethe r the internationalization of this model of functional factory was a model that influe nced the design of some modern industrial design pieces. By using more speculative methodologies, our objecti ve is to identify and understand some modern design objects that reflect a formal re lationship with the Grain Elevators.