An Interior Fit for an Airstream

Image by Drew Kelly via the New York TimesThe New York Times this week ran a Q&A with Christopher C. Deam, who for 13 years has been helping Airstream design the interiors for its modern architecture marvel of a trailer (click here for Deam's firm, CCD Architecture-Furniture). Deam and Airstream’s latest interior design—the Sterling Concept Trailer—is currently on display for Modernism Week in Palm Springs. 

The Q&A includes a great anecdote from Deam’s first experience with the Airstream’s famous streamline moderne design:

 

“What I found was, you had this great streamlined aerodynamic modern exterior, and then you opened the door and it was like grandma’s kitchen. There was a disconnect between the exterior and the interior. You approached the trailer and there was the magic promise of the future, and you walk in and it was like a log cabin on wheels. What we decided was, we had to do some kind of archaeology, stripping it down and getting rid of all the gewgaws and clunky interior, and taking it back to something really essential. I simplified it and emphasized the horizontal lines and put in a lot of fluid, curved laminates.”

The Sterling Concept Trailer is everything a streamline moderne design should be—round edges, shiny materials (aluminum, just like the exterior), and very little in the way of accents. But in a purely contemporary touch, the trailer is now Wi-Fi ready.