Cold War Modern

It was not just the political map that was transformed by the Cold War, but the visual world changed irrevocably too. From the brutalist architecture of the Eastern bloc to the futuristic domestic designs of Dieter Rams at Braun, culture shouldered some of the burden of postwar growing pains between 1945 and 1970, while also experimenting with the latest technologies and materials. The V&A continues its brilliant series of annual design blockbusters by gathering over 300 objects that reflect both the fears of nuclear devastation (in Stanley Kubrick's satirical 'Dr Strangelove') and the fantasies of space flight (with an original Sputnik and an Apollo Mission suit) that characterised this anxious era. (OW)