The Quiet Power of Art Deco

How Art Deco Shapes My Architectural Practice

My name is Benjamin Liatoud, and Art Deco has never been a style choice for me.
It has been a way of understanding architecture long before it became a reference.

I did not encounter Art Deco through textbooks or nostalgia. I encountered it through cities — through buildings that aged well, through details that resisted time, through spaces that remained confident decades after their construction. Art Deco revealed itself not as an aesthetic frozen in the past, but as a discipline rooted in balance, structure and intention.

What continues to fascinate me about Art Deco is not its ornamentation, but its intelligence.

Art Deco emerged at a moment when architecture had to reconcile opposites: industry and craft, modernity and tradition, efficiency and beauty. It was not decorative excess; it was controlled expression. Geometry, proportion, rhythm, materiality — every gesture had a reason. Nothing was accidental, yet nothing felt rigid. This tension is precisely what speaks to my practice today.

Art Deco as Structure, Not Style

I do not reproduce Art Deco motifs. I do not quote it.
I translate its principles.

Art Deco understood something essential: that architecture must be legible, embodied and confident. It does not apologize for being architectural. It embraces hierarchy, symmetry, alignment — not as constraints, but as tools to create clarity and calm.

In my work, this translates into strong compositions. Clear axes. Balanced volumes. Spaces that feel grounded and deliberate. Even when a project is contemporary in language, its underlying logic often carries an Art Deco discipline — a sense of order that allows freedom to exist without chaos.

Art Deco teaches restraint.
It teaches that elegance is not softness, but precision.

Geometry, Proportion and the Body

One of the most powerful legacies of Art Deco is its relationship to the human body. Proportions are not arbitrary. Heights, widths, rhythms respond to how we move, stand, sit, observe. Art Deco spaces are not neutral — they guide posture, pace, perception.

This is central to my practice.

When I design a space, I think in sections as much as in plans. I think about eye level, shoulder width, reach, weight. I think about how a material meets the hand, how light strikes a surface, how a threshold is crossed. Art Deco reminds us that architecture is experienced physically before it is understood intellectually.

That embodied quality is something I constantly pursue.

Materials: Weight, Density, Permanence

Art Deco has an intimate relationship with material honesty. Stone is heavy. Metal is strong. Wood is warm. Materials are chosen not only for their appearance, but for their capacity to last, to age, to carry presence.

This deeply resonates with my instinctive attraction to raw, high-quality materials.

I work with stone, wood, metal because they hold time. I visit marble quarries. I observe veins, fractures, density. I want to understand where the material comes from and how it behaves. This approach is directly aligned with the Art Deco mindset: materials are not surface treatments — they are structure, expression and memory.

Art Deco understood permanence.
It was never meant to be temporary.

Art Deco and Craftsmanship

Another essential dimension of Art Deco is its relationship with craft. Even when it embraced industrial processes, it never dismissed the hand. Details mattered. Transitions mattered. Finishes mattered.

My practice relies heavily on this same respect for craftsmanship.

I work closely with artisans, cabinetmakers, metalworkers, stonecutters, upholsterers. Not as executors, but as partners. Their knowledge informs design decisions. Their understanding of material limits refines proportions and details. This dialogue is fundamental.

Art Deco was built by hands guided by intelligence.
That lineage matters to me.

Art Deco as Confidence

Perhaps what I admire most about Art Deco is its confidence. It does not seek validation. It does not chase trends. It assumes its presence.

In an era where architecture often feels over-explanatory, over-conceptualized, Art Deco reminds us that clarity is power. That a building or an interior can stand without justification if it is well composed, well built and well proportioned.

This confidence influences how I approach projects today. I avoid excessive gestures. I prefer quiet authority. Spaces should feel obvious in retrospect — as if they could not have been otherwise.

That sense of inevitability is something Art Deco mastered.

Between Ornament and Restraint

Art Deco is often misunderstood as ornamental. In reality, its ornamentation is structural. Lines follow logic. Patterns follow geometry. Decoration reinforces composition rather than distracting from it.

This principle is essential in my work, especially when integrating details, textures or furniture.

I curate vintage pieces not for nostalgia, but for their proportion and presence. Many Art Deco objects — chairs, tables, lighting — achieve a rare balance between function and expression. They are assertive without being loud. Integrating them into contemporary spaces creates dialogue rather than contrast.

The past is not a reference.
It is a partner.

Art Deco Across Cultures and Cities

Art Deco is not a single language. It adapted to places, climates, cultures. Miami, Paris, Tel Aviv, Los Angeles — each city interpreted Art Deco differently, responding to light, heat, materials and social context.

This adaptability resonates deeply with my nomadic practice.

Working across different cities has reinforced my belief that architecture must be rooted while remaining coherent. Art Deco demonstrates how a strong underlying logic can generate multiple expressions without losing identity.

This is how I approach my own work: not as repetition, but as variation around a core discipline.

Art Deco and Time

Art Deco has aged remarkably well. Many Art Deco buildings still feel contemporary because they were never trend-driven. They were designed with foresight, with confidence in proportion and material.

Time is a silent collaborator in architecture.
Art Deco understood this.

I design with aging in mind. How materials will patinate. How spaces will be used differently over years. How a project will feel once novelty fades. Art Deco reminds us that architecture gains depth when it is allowed to mature.

Not a Style, a Framework

Art Deco, for me, is not an aesthetic reference.
It is a framework.

A way to think about structure, proportion, material, craft and confidence. A reminder that architecture can be both rigorous and sensual. Both expressive and restrained.

It shapes how I see, how I design, how I choose materials, how I work with artisans, how I compose space. It informs my decisions quietly, constantly.

Art Deco does not appear in my work as a quotation.
It appears as a discipline.

And discipline, when internalized, becomes freedom.