Following World War I, American industrial designers stepped forth to revolutionize man-made objects for a booming consumer market. Glencoe architect and art commentator Joseph Madda will delve into the amazing worlds of the Big Four—designers Walter Dorwin Teague, Norman Bel Geddes, Henry Dreyfuss, and Raymond Loewy—as they changed the way America looked, from Art Deco to Streamline Moderne and beyond.

About the presenter: Joseph Madda is a licensed architect, educator and author of short fiction, design commentary, and communications essays. After growing up in Chicago, he earned a bachelor’s degree in fine arts at Georgetown University and a master’s degree in architecture at Harvard University. A 40-year, award-winning design and construction career in Los Angeles followed in which he participated in over 500 projects around the globe. He returned to the Midwest in 2015, where he concentrated on the power of words. He has presented to many cultural, governmental and institutional organizations, including the J. Paul Getty Museum, the U. S. Naval Facilities Command, the American Institute of Architects, Loyola University/Chicago School of Medicine, Frank Lloyd Wright Trust, and Open House Chicago. He has a special interest in cross-disciplinary examinations of American culture and in its artistic, socioeconomic and technological milieus.

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