Airstream unveils a new Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired trailer

Two American icons have come together for a collaboration that invites adventurers to live amongst design legacy like never before. Today Airstream, the Ohio-based travel trailer company known for its recognizable aluminium exterior, debuts its first collaboration with Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, the Usonion Limited Edition Travel Trailer.

The travel trailer was unveiled at Taliesin West, Frank Lloyd Wright’s winter home and studio in Scottsdale, Arizona. With more windows than any other Airstream model and a porthole door window, the trailer positions the outdoors as a work of art. It measures 28 feet and sleeps up to four, with a banquette in the communal kitchen area that converts to a near-queen size bed and two blue sofas that convert into a king-sized bed (a rarity for Airstream) with the flip of a switch. The primary bedroom features a large window framing the landscape with a hatch that opens for fresh air and stargazing.

Making the most of a tight space is Airstream’s modus operandi and lends itself well to Wright, whose building designs often compress visitors into a narrow space with low ceilings before creating the feeling of 'release' by ushering them into a more spacious environment – like walking through the hallway of an Airstream before entering the king bedroom.

Odes to Wright – be it the light switches or the Gordon leaf motif (a design resurrected from Wright’s archive) on the collapsible kitchen table and trailer door – are everywhere. The ceiling features wood louvers, reminiscent of those at Taliesin West, and illuminated timber shelves, again embellished with the Gordon leaf.

Airstream has collaborated on limited edition trailers with the likes of Pendleton, Eddie Bauer, even Tommy Bahama, but this collaboration is an especially apt fit.

'If you had Venn diagrams of the Frank Lloyd Wright customer and the Airstream customer, they're gonna be pretty close to on top of each other,' said Carey Walley, director of marketing at Airstream.

Wright’s Usonian principles, which the trailer takes its name from, centre around practicality and multi-function design as well as integration with the surrounding landscape. Airstream, whose first trailer launched in 1936, has abided by a similar ethos since its foundation by inventor, engineer and great-outdoors lover Wally Bayam.

For Bob Wheeler, president and CEO of Airstream, the Unsonion Limited Edition Travel Trailer is a way to 'show people that [Wright’s work] are not static things that are set in their museums. In fact, it's a way of life that anybody can do. Now you can get one of these trailers and go out and live that incredible life in a beautiful, Wright-inspired design.'

Two hundred numbered editions of the Usonion Limited Edition Travel Trailer are now available on a first-come, first-served, basis, for $185,000. For more information, visit airstream.com.