Peter Harnden. Between the Cold War and the Mediterranean tradition

Abstract

After World War II, the American architect Peter Harnden was appointed director of the United States Information Service in Paris, in charge of promoting the Marshall Plan in Europe with the objective of increasing European production and American trade. To promote the Plan’s aims, more than 400 programs and exhibitions were organized throughout Europe taking advantage of dry construction, easy assembly and the possibilities offered by visual advertising. After founding his industrial design studio in Orgeval, where the Italian architect Lanfranco Bombelli soon stood out, Harnden and his team moved to Barcelona in the early 1960s. There, in addition to continuing with institutional commissions, he designed sophisticated private homes on the Mediterranean coast that, camouflaged as “regionalism”, looked like exhibitions – with their exacerbated sense of comfort, open and spacious living areas, photogenic furniture and sculptural fireplaces. In grey flannel and with diplomatic poise or in espadrilles and an unbuttoned shirt, before a huge audience or in refined circles, Harnden’s big band performed live American architecture throughout the 20-some years of his professional career.

Keywords

• guerra fredda
• tradizione mediterranea
• harnden