Mid-Century Modern vs Usonian
Usonian is the cross-discipline counterpart of Mid-Century Modern — its open plans and indoor-outdoor living strongly informed postwar mid-century modern houses.
Mid-Century Modern
Warm, livable modernism — clean lines and flat planes opened up with glass walls that dissolve the boundary between indoors and out.
- Clean horizontal lines, flat or low-pitched roofs
- Floor-to-ceiling glass and walls of windows
- Open floor plans and indoor-outdoor flow
- Honest use of wood, stone, and brick
- Integration with the natural site and landscape
Usonian
Frank Lloyd Wright's affordable single-story houses for middle-class America — built on modular grids with deep eaves, open plans, and a central hearth.
- Single-story plan on a repeating modular grid
- Deep cantilevered eaves over clerestory and full-height glazing
- Open living area centered on a masonry hearth
- Natural materials — brick, stone, wood — honestly exposed
- Concrete slab with radiant heating and a carport, not a garage
At a glance
| Mid-Century Modern | Usonian | |
|---|---|---|
| Era | 1945–1969 | 1936–1960 |
| Discipline | Architecture | Architecture |
| Region | United States, Scandinavia | United States |
| Family | Modernism | Organic, Modernism |
| Formal traits | clean-lined, organic, minimal, indoor-outdoor | horizontal, low-slung, modular, natural-materials |
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