The man who brought Art Deco in passenger ship interiors to the seven seas

Born in Christchurch , New Zealand, Brian O’Rorke moved with his family to the UK in 1911. He studied engineering and architecture at Cambridge University,

At the start of his career he mainly worked on private houses and also did projects in the city of London, but his breakthrough came with his designs for the new headquarters of the Royal Institute of British Architects in London in1931. London’s Mayor Gallery, a new modern art gallery, the Berkeley Hotel, London, the New Royal Observatory at Herstmonceux in Sussex and the student housing (residence halls) at Nottingham University followed in later years. His design for the National Theatre in London was never realized.

All were in an abstract traditional style and some say beared resemblance to the work of architect Donald McMorran (1904 – 1965) who was, although not a Modernist, known for his choice of new, modern materials and his clean building facades without much detail.

His fiends Betty and Ralph Rayner hired O’Rorke for the complete design (including its funishings) of Ashcombe Tower, Devon, their new  home.

0’Rorke now established his own interior design studio, specialising in transporation like ships, aircraft, and trains.

His work was immideately noticed by  Colin Anderson, director of Orient Steam Navigation Company, who was deeply impressed and asked him to design the interiors of their new liner, RMS Orion, in 1934.

Anderson had just taken over responsability for Orient Line’s design department and his principal goal was to realize modernist interiors for his new liner. He believed interior and exterior design of passenger ships needed to form a unity, showing coherence between the two. He commented that “we are fighting baroque elements like veneered panelling and insisting that straight and uneventful grain is what we need to have. We reject damask patterns, the cut velvet, plush and chintz, the salon, boobles and vague Louis cutlery”.

Indeed, O Rorke used modern marterials  as bakelite and chromium in combintion with grain woods which wasn’t seen on any ship of the day. Spaces without any decoration, but with unadorned finishes and simple clean lines were the result. Indeed, unadorned columns, clean lined modern furnishings partly made of chromium as well as the use of bakelite and wood with matte finishes made the new ship’s interiors stand out. These materials were also used because they would withstand the wear of the salty sea air far better.

He made interiors flexible by using removable and folding walls as well as sliding glass doors bringing interior and exterior together as cooling breezes could flow from the promenade decks into the ship’s public rooms.

Rooms without access to the deck of the ship were also made to feel spacious by designing them as light and uncluttered as possible.

With his completely new approach of designing passenger ship interiors, O’Rorke entirely departed from the traditional passenger ship interiors with architectural details originating from land sources which had been the case since late 1800’s.

Apart from being the first British ocean liner fitted with airconditioning, more importantly, Orion was the first passenger ship with interiors truly following Modernist principles (in short, Modernist interiors are characterised by clean lines, open-plan layouts, functional and adaptable furniture and minimalist designs. Often natural materials such as wood, but also new ones like chromium or bakelite are used, making the designs functional yet futuristic. Surfaces are smooth with little to no ornamentation or decoration. There is no connection with historical styles whatsoever).

Orion proved very successful and O’Rorke designed interiors for several more of Orient’s ships. One of these was Orion’s sistership Orcades (1936). Her interiors also showed the same modernistic touch. The second Orcades (1947), Oronsay (1950), Orsova (1953) and Oriana (1959) followed.

During his career, OʼRorke worked together with several Britih designers related tot he Modernist Movement but also deployed several fellow designers from Australia and New Zealand to help with his designs. Related to his work on Orient Line’s liners, they also happened to be designers who from experience knew the tropical conditions in which the Orient Line ships would need to carry people comfortably.

After returning from Orion‘s maiden Mediterranean cruise in 1935, he started working for Imperial Airways, designing the interiors of their twenty-eight new Short Empire flying boats. His modern approach, like the passenger ship interiors he had designed, also set a new standard for aircraft, replacing their once ornate interiors with his clean, simple, functional and modern designs.