Lustron cheers, Lustron cries

18.06.2010

Friday June 18 the documentary 'Lustron, the house America's been waiting for' was shown at Filmhuis Den Haag, part of the movie programme 'Wanted Creativity'. Design historian Timo de Rijk introduced the movie about standardized houses of steal and ceramics.

In 1947 Carl Strandlund started with the marketing and production of the Lustron House (the house America has been waiting for). Made possible by substantial financial support of the American government that required affordable housing for veterans. Strandlund had model houses made in the city centres of big cities in several states of America. The media success that followed generated huge interest from the consumer. The relatively simple house was seen as the house of the future. The Lustron house became 'the talk of the country' and a magnet for power and money. Politics started to interfere with the content, installed well paid people in the board and tried to hook up entrepreneurs to marketing, production and distribution. The authentic well organized organization of Standlund in the end was so disturbed and weakened that bankruptcy was unavoidable. After only three years the production location of Lustron was used again for producing airplanes. The Lustron houses that were build, are still there and proud owners clean their façades with the garden hose and hang paintings above the couch with magnets.