SAHARA Highlights: Stainless Steel

This month we’re featuring another building material and showcasing its practical and decorative use. Stainless steel has been in use for barely 100 years. In the very late 19^th and early 20^th centuries various alloys were developed primarily for industrial purposes, such as furnaces. It was later implemented for surgical instruments and similar uses, as well as in industries requiring a high level of sanitation, such as dairies and breweries. Appreciated for its non-porous and easy-to-clean surface properties, as well as its new aesthetic, architects began to integrate it in both decorative and functional ways. The examples here show early use in Art Deco entrances and details and gradual incorporation in facades and external walls, culminating in the wholesale celebration of stainless steel by Frank Gehry and many of his contemporaries.

If you would like to learn more about the history of stainless steel, click here. As always, thank you to our contributors.

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William Van Alen, Chrysler Building, New York, NY, 1928–1930. Detail of spire and upper stories. Photograph by Allan Kohl, 1993.

Kullman Diner Co., Joann’s Silver Top Diner, Providence, RI, 1937. Photograph by Patrick Malone, ca 1980.

James McKissack and J.W. Anderson, Cosmo Cinema, Glasgow, Scotland, 1939. Photograph by Mark Hinchman, 2017.

Curtis and Davis, the United Steelworkers Building (aka the IBM Building), Pittsburgh, PA, 1961–1963. Photograph by Richard Longstreth, ca 2000.

Eero Saarinen and Glen Paulson and Associates, Christ Church Lutheran Education Building, Minneapolis, MN, 1962. View of kitchen. Photograph by Dell Upton, 2016.

Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 1992–1998. View of entrance. Photograph by Dell Upton, 2014.

Frank Gehry, Jay Pritzker Pavilion, Millennium Park, Chicago, IL, 2004. Photograph by Hannah Loftus, 2012.

Yoshio Taniguchi, Naka Incineration Plant, Hiroshima, Japan, 2004. View down Ecorium corridor looking south. Photograph by Sarah Rovang, 2018.

Madden Fabrications, The Portland Loo, Portland, OR, 2006–2008. The steel wall panels are nearly indestructible and easily cleaned. Photographed by Dell Upton, 2012.

Thom Mayne and Morphosis, Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, New York, NY, 2006–2009. View of rear façade. Photograph by Peter Clericuzio, 2012.

Office dA and Johnston Marklee, Helios House service station, Los Angeles, CA, 2007-8. Photograph by Dell Upton, 2011.