Design and Evolution: Streamlining and Eugenics

When taking the design of Streamlining into account, there are a few obvious facets: the long horizontal lines, asymetrical shapes, smooth curves and suggestive motion in the overall form.  It's really quite a beautiful style of architecture, along with its contemporary cousin, Art Deco.  Some experts theorize streamlining mimics the sociopolitical ideals of eugenics with its aerodynamic form.  Both streamlining and eugenics coincided at a time of political and social upheaval, with an emphasis in creating a more stable future through social and economic sectors.  It arose at a time when there was a strong push to "cleanse" our society of social misfits and outcasts in attempt to create a more aryan and less diverse nation.

The basic notion of streamlining involves pairing down anything superflous to the bare necessities.  It literally strips away any ornamentation and extraneous materials to that which is simplified, purely functional and efficient.  The idea shape is that of a tear drop,  when this shape is immersed in moving water, it is the most effective in avoiding any drag within movement.  According to Christina Cogdell, UCD lecturer and author of Eugenic Design: Streamlining American in the 1930's,  goals of streamlining include: "controlled evolution of product design, increase efficiency and speed, hygiene and sterilization, along with creating the idea type to hasten the arrival of utopia."  Streamlining parallels the goals of eugenics in the to attempt to control the evolution of human race, creating the ideal human fit for society.  It also attempted to create a sort of "race hygiene" through sterilization.  Both attempt to control their environment and create a type- a physical manifestation of purity.

This is not the first occasion in history that design has followed evolution theories.  Louis Sullivan, a Chicago based architect in the early 1900's  based many of his designs off of the modernist discipline of 'form follows function.'  His practice actually generated from Lamarck's theory of evolution in that the physical manifestation will be structured according to its function and purpose.  Sullivan's work clearly displays this through ornamentation, structure and form.

I think Cogdell's research is a bit of a stretch considering there are no direct links of designers specifically referencing eugenics.  However, she does make  a compelling argument, nonetheless,  and offers solid links between Norman Bel Geddes (an industrial designer and streamlining pioneer) and his own "hobbies" of housing an aquarium of approximately 2,000 species for observation and "breeding purposes." (Cogdell, Eugenic Design, 1).

Whether you agree with the arguments between design and evolution, they remain interesting nonetheless, and pose the relevant question: To what degree is design directly reflecting social or political movements at large (historically or currently speaking)?