Airstream recently announced its all-new Frank Lloyd Wright Usonian Limited Edition Travel Trailer — an Airstream unlike anything ever produced by this almost 95-year-old American brand, the company said in a release.
Featuring Airstream’s iconic, rounded, riveted aluminum shell exterior and an interior inspired by the work of architect Frank Lloyd Wright, this new 28-foot travel trailer is a testament to the best of American design. Airstream’s handmade craftsmanship and Wright’s distinct and intrinsic touchstones manifest in convertible features, narrow passageways that open to expansive interior spaces, and a beautiful blend of interior and exterior. Only 200 units of this limited-edition Airstream will be produced over the next two years, and Airstream’s nationwide dealer network is taking orders now.
The Airstream Frank Lloyd Wright Usonian Limited Edition was designed in collaboration between Airstream’s Jackson Center, Ohio-based engineering and design teams and the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation’s team based out of Wright’s Taliesin West home and studio in Scottsdale, Arizona. It draws inspiration from Airstream founder Wally Byam’s dedication to innovation in the pursuit of travel freedom and Frank Lloyd Wright’s singular philosophy of organic architecture, where the landscape is an essential element of design.
“I’d like to have a free architecture,” Wright wrote, putting into words his now-iconic design philosophy. “I’d like to have architecture that belonged where you see it standing.”
For Wright, that meant bringing to life designs that sprung naturally from the chosen site, informed by everything from the changing seasons to the path of the sun moving across the sky. But like Airstream founder Byam, Wright was also an iconoclast, embracing new technology, new tools, and new ideas that challenged the old guard. In the Airstream travel trailer’s untethered ability to move from setting to setting with freedom, the Foundation’s design team viewed organic architecture through a new lens – one where nature and mobility find balance and harmony in the outdoors. Likewise, the Foundation challenged Airstream’s engineers and designers with capturing the essence of Wright’s style – particularly his Usonian design philosophy where convertibility maximized small space living – in the furniture, lighting, multifunctional features, and luxurious amenities.
The result is the Airstream Frank Lloyd Wright Usonian Limited Edition Travel Trailer — a 28-foot travel trailer with numbered, limited-edition badging and a production run of just 200 units built over the course of the next two years. It provides owners with the ability to take Wright’s modern and functional designs on the road in search of beautiful vistas, stunning natural landscapes, and cultural locations across our vast and varied American tapestry.
“This is a dream collaboration that brings together two icons of American design, and by focusing on Wright’s design principles we were pushed to think differently about materials, textures, and small space efficiency in our floor plan,” said Bob Wheeler, president and chief executive officer at Airstream.
Wheeler praised the teamwork that blended key elements from both sides of the partnership.
“Collaborations like this bring new ideas to the table and push our design and engineering teams beyond their comfort zone. The result distills the essence of these two iconoclasts in a travel trailer that is both beautiful and functional.”
“We believe Frank Lloyd Wright’s design philosophy was always about helping people live with more purpose, beauty and joy,” said Henry Hendrix, Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation vice president and chief marketing officer. “This collaboration with Airstream has been better than we could have imagined — a perfect meeting of vision and craft that brings Wright’s timeless ideas to life on the road. Together, we’ve created something that lets Airstream enthusiasts ‘Live Riveted’ in the fullest sense — deeply connected to nature, adventure, and the meaning of home, wherever they go.”
Click here to read more about the new Frank Lloyd Wright Usonian Limited Edition Travel Trailer.
