What exactly is streamlining?
‘Streamline’ is a term that originally came from science and technology. It refers to the straightest possible line along which a liquid or gas will flow. If the liquid encounters an obstacle, resistance occurs and the straight flow is interrupted.
Resistance or ‘drag’ slows vehicles down, can make them harder to control and increases their fuel consumption. So it is important that they are given the right shape to enable them to move efficiently through the air or water. This is how the streamlined design came about: designers use shapes that are often smooth and curved to guide the flow in the right direction.
The scientific study of the way air and other gases move is called aerodynamics. In the case of water or other liquids, it’s hydrodynamics.
Demonstration of streamlined fairings at the International Cycle and Motorcycle Exhibition in London in 1958. Keystone Press / Alamy Stock Photo
More
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’?
Future
In our present age of climate upheaval and fuel shortages, reducing air resistance is right back at the top of the design agenda.
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.
