The Art Deco Cityscape and the Seduction of Public Space. The Case of Bucharest
In: Quaderni dell'Istituto di Storia dell'Architettura: n.s. 2019, 2020
DOI: 10.48255/1127
The Art Deco Cityscape and the Seduction of Public Space. The Case of Bucharest
During the 1920s and 1930s, the cordial and hedonistic species of Modernism known as Art Deco enjoyed
a much greater popularity than the canonical, radical variant represented by the International Style. Art
Deco architecture largely contributed to shaping the urban landscape of many metropolises all over the
world, turning it into an expressive décor of city life.
The paper examines the specific Art Deco “mechanisms” of seduction applied to public space, essentially
based on ornament and the ornamental valences of light, materials and forms, and deriving from a close
relationship with tradition, mass culture and an incipient consumer culture. The scenographic dimension
of the Art Deco aesthetic and its vocation of treating the cityscape as a glamorous «mise-en-scène» is
perfectly illustrated by the Deco-Modernist heritage of interwar Bucharest.