This Is the Airstream Travel Trailer You Design When America’s Greatest Architect Is the Inspiration

Several years ago, I casually signed up for a Frank Lloyd Wright architecture tour in Chicago — and was subsequently blown away.

Though the man’s personal life was rather … checkered, Wright’s knack for creating structures that exist in harmony with their environment continues to wow more than half a century after his death.

Airstream

Now, a surprising brand is expanding upon that legacy even further, thanks to Airstream’s new Frank Lloyd Wright Usonian Limited Edition Travel Trailer.

Inspired by archival materials and drawing on Wright’s late career focus on Usonian design principles that maximize small spaces and open floor plan efficiency, this 28-foot trailer is a true Mid-Century stunner.

Here are five unique qualities that jump out.

Bedroom with a view

While many Airstreams place a convertible dinette inside the rear hatch, this unit flips this script by placing the main sleeping area here. Offering a panoramic view every morning, this shift embodies Usonian principles, bridging the gap between the interior and exterior. 

Airstream

It also maxes out the space, as two twin beds, which double as bench seating, convert at the push of a button to a king-sized bed. Recalling the gaucho beds of ’50s- and ’60s-era Airstreams, it’s the biggest sleeping option in Airstream’s current fleet.

Collapsible comfort

Meanwhile, the front living space is home to another convertible feature. The dining table and a separate desk both collapse into a wall cabinet, leaving room for a pull-out sofa for others to sleep upon.

Airstream

A couple of collapsible Wright-style chairs and a collapsible chair (which can be seen with the chairs in the photo near the top of this page) also tuck inside the wall cabinet, behind the lowered desk and table. 

Eye-popping entryway

Far from an ordinary way in, this one features a custom graphic design element drawn from the work of Wright-apprentice Eugene Masselink, who created the Gordon Leaf mural in 1956 for House Beautiful editor Elizabeth Gordon.

Airstream

This pattern’s organic geometry appears on the Airstream’s main entry portal and matching die-cut screen door, and reflected throughout the interior in the lighting sconces, gallery wall laminate, dinette and cabinetry pulls.

Let there be light

True to his general ideas about architecture, Wright was unsurprisingly a devotee of natural light. That belief carries over to this trailer, which relocates overhead storage capacity to allow for more windows.

Airstream

Two porthole windows nod to Wright’s love of circles and the Airstream’s own aerodynamic heritage, literally rounding out a total of 29 windows — more than any other Airstream to date.

Archival accents

The trailer honors other tried-and-true Wright staples, including deep-set lounge seating drawn from his furniture design, open shelving and a never-produced mobile kitchen concept Wright cooked up in 1939.

Airstream

Lastly, the color palette is inspired by a 1955 Wright-curated Martin-Senour paint collection, rich with hues of ochre, deep red and turquoise.

These desert hues bring things home for an architect who may be most famous for Pennsylvania’s Fallingwater but who spent much of his final 22 years at Taliesin West — now a National Historic Landmark and a World Heritage Site in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Availability and pricing

The Airstream Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation Usonian Limited Edition Travel Trailer will be available for purchase at Airstream dealers nationwide, with a starting price of $184,900.

A total of 200 units are being produced.

Airstream

Airstream Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation Usonian Limited Edition Travel Trailer

• $184,900 at Airstream

Related Topics