were attempting to achieve: ‘I was strolling down the main street of the great 1930 Stockholm Exhibition. It was summer and tremendously hot. The sun of a new decade shone down on my head. A whole new city of steel, glass and concrete stood on what had been an empty plain.’
33
The Stockholm Exhibition represented Sweden and the prowess of other Nordic countries, to the envy of social and cultural radicals in Britain. These small nations held a firm economic base in homogenous societies and as a result were in a far superior position to demonstrate the liberating force of modern design.34 The South Bank Exhibition looked to emulate this Nordic culture, as the exhibits provided visitors with an opportunity to see modern commodities. Although, the Festival Style did not achieve the magnitude of success of Scandinavian design35, British homes certainly benefitted from the originality of the 1950s Festival design. Furniture was not the only product to emanate from the Festival its positive effect on society was a tipping point in British History.
33. Ivar Lo-Johansson, cited by Holland, J., An English Sensibility: The Architecture of Oliver Hill, (Unpublished Doctoral Thesis, University of Portsmouth, 2011.) pp. 175 34. ibid., pp. 238 35. Barry Turner, A Beacon for Change, How the 1951 Festival of Britain Shaped the Modern Age. (London, Aurum Press Limited, 2011.) pp. 239
51