How AGA Became an Icon

dEsigNs oN ThE fUTUrE
e concept of industrial design, recognised as
a separate discipline, was introduced to Britain
from the United States prior to the First World
War. During the 1930s it was encouraging
interest and criticism in almost equal measure.
But by the 1930s – with industrial design and
production eciency becoming mainstream
subjects – W.T. Wren saw there was further
progress to be made with the AGA cooker and
decided the future of the AGA cooker’s look
should be shaped by a man with an international
reputation.
Wren decided on Raymond Loewy, widely
acknowledged since as one of the leading
designers of the 20th century. e work on
the future design of the AGA cooker would
be carried out under the auspices of the newly
founded London oce of Raymond Loewy
Associates.
In the broader eld of industrial design,
Raymond Loewy Associates had contracts with
140 clients in America and 60 in Europe. Loewy
maintained design studios in New York, Chicago,
London and Paris and for years the name
Raymond Loewy Associates was synonymous
with outstanding product and package design,
with its portfolio spanning the design of aircra
interiors, luxury ocean liners, buses, department
stores, architecture and supermarkets.
An expression was coined to describe the scope
of work of the Loewy organisation: "... in design,
everything from lipsticks to locomotives."
e London oce of Raymond Loewy
Associates was unique in Britain as the only
purely professional industrial design oce in the
country. It opened in 1936 and the extraordinary
relationship with Mayfair-based AGA Heat Ltd
began with the appointment of Carl Otto and
Douglas Scott as stylists for the company [see
page 23]. Loewy continued to work with
AGA Heat and its parent company – Allied
Ironfounders – until at least the 1950s.
Wren briefed Loewy to produce a new version
of the original AGA cooker, one which would
endure and become a kitchen icon. at vision
was fully realised in 1941 with the advent of the
Standard Model C AGA Cooker, a model which
would go on to remain in production until 1972.
Among the principal design changes were:
• A restyled front plate
• e top and bottom oven doors were
recongured to be the same size
• e rectangular grill over the auxiliary air inlet
and ash-pit door was styled for the rst time to
echo the size and shape of the two oven doors
• e door hinges and handles were modied
• e heat gauge was placed centrally
• e overall design was made signicantly
more ecient.
Wren’s vision – and skill in seeing real talent –
had again paid dividends, with the creation of
a brand new AGA cooker with the design
and engineering values to endure for three
decades.
q
RAYMOND LOEWY
Designer
Innovator
Head of Raymond
Loewy Associates
Raymond Loewy (1893–
1986) was an acclaimed
industrial designer and
reputed to have been the
first to be featured on the
cover of Time magazine
(1949). Born in France,
he spent most of his
professional career in the
United States. Among his
most notable designs
were the Shell and BP
logos, the Greyhound
bus, Coca-Cola vending
machines and the Air
Force One livery. His
career spanned seven
decades and included
important design work
in the UK overseeing
the launch of the New
Standard AGA cooker.
Between 1936 and 1941
this team launched and
updated the New
Standard AGA cooker,
leading to the production
of a formidable portfolio
of technical innovations.
modern AGA cooker.
He was also responsible
for the look of the
Rayburn cooker.
In 1936, the acclaimed industrial designer Raymond Loewy was
recruited by W. T. Wren to re-design the AGA cooker. It was a
master stroke with the new model launched in 1941 and still in
production three decades later. Here, we profile the influential
American designer and the talented design team he assembled…
How e AGA Became An Icon 21
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