In our present age of climate upheaval and fuel shortages, reducing air resistance is right back at the top of the design agenda. Streamlining pioneer Paul Jaray, who argued as far back as 1922 that cars had to be streamlined to reduce their fuel consumption, gets the last word after all.
Icons after streamlining
In the 1930s, the streamline style was new and spectacular. Today, that era’s idea of the future may seem overly optimistic to us. Yet even from the 1960s onwards, we saw new icons of
progress. Japan’s bullet train, the Shinkansen, for instance, suddenly put rail back on the map as a mode of transport for the future. The French TGV was famously inspired by it. Concorde, the streamlined aircraft that could fly faster than the speed of sound, also became world-famous.
Luigi Colani
Streamlining retains some of its symbolic power – a fact demonstrated by the spectacular and occasionally bizarre ‘biodesign’ of the eccentric German designer Luigi Colani (1928–2019). He made his name internationally in the 1970s with futuristically streamlined designs for cars, trucks, planes and trains. Many of them were never adopted on a mass scale, but they did assume an iconic status as unique visions of the future.
Which way is the wind blowing?
Transport accounts for about 21% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Proposals have thus been made from various quarters in recent years to develop the transport of the future. Aerodynamics, which can improve a vehicle’s fuel economy, plays a significant role in this. From blended wing-body aircraft to floating trains and slender solar-powered cars, the streamlined form seems to be making a comeback. Now, however, out of sheer necessity.
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Historical streamlining books
Much has been and continues to be written about streamlining, the design style as well as the scientific phenomenon. A selection of historical books by curator Tomas van den Heuvel.
Streamlined solar cars
Solar cars need to be as efficient as possible and are therefore completely streamlined. In this video, Luc Evertzen of Solar Team Twente tells you more about the importance of streamlining solar cars.
Streamlined athletes
Cyclist Ellen van Dijk is a seven-time world champion and set the world hour record in 2022. In this video, she elaborates on why streamlining is important to her.
Streamlined animals
In search of the ideal streamline, people often look to nature. But what are we actually talking about when we talk about streamlined animals?
Streamlining and aerodynamic drag
What is a streamline? And what is aerodynamic resistance or ‘drag’?
Performance
Aerodynamics or hydrodynamics are crucial to speed sports like swimming, cycling, skating, bobsledding and skiing.
Ideal
At its height, the streamlined design was accompanied by certain modern ideals.
Style
It was no coincidence that the streamlined look became so popular in the 1930s.
Icons
New, streamlined vehicles were frequently held out in advertisements as the future of transport. In this way, streamlined trains, cars, aeroplanes and boats assumed an iconic status.
Experiment
Many early experiments set out to compare forms in order to identify the perfect one.
Enchantment
For hundreds of years, a galloping horse was viewed as the epitome of speed. But this would change in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. New inventions like the train, the car and the aeroplane meant that speeds that once seemed fantastical were becoming increasingly possible. This new potential for progress had a huge…
Nature
Learning from nature can still be very useful when it comes to creating aerodynamic designs.
What exactly is streamlining?
The term “streamline” originates from science and engineering, but what is it?
