2s Caoilal Journal Building Section, Friday, March 10, 1950
.
A national trend away from the tradition in house design and
toward contemporary or modem ideas, exploiting broad win
dows and blending indoor and outdoor living, is now apparent
in every section.
Rambling one-story houses, popularly nicknamed ranch houses.
are more and more in demand. Even Texas, home of the ranch,
has discovered the suburban ranch house, while the name has
been stretched so far around New York that a "two-story ranch
nouse - nas oeen aaverusea.
Here are reports on what homes people want today in the
soum, soutnwesi far west ana
Midwest Prefers
Variety in Styles
' By WILLIAM J. CONWAY
AP Newjfeiittirei Writer
Ranch type homes are grow
ing in " popularity in the mid
west. The best market Is in houses
that sell for $11,000 or less.
Those are strong style and
price trends. But they don't tell
the whole story. Midwestern
building, like midwestern
" weather, features variety.
"The day of look-alike, peas-
in-the-pod houses is past in this
region," says Martin C. Huggett,
executive vice president of the
Chicago Metropolitan Home
Builders association. "In order
to sell, we have to give the pub
lic a diversity of design and an
inviting appearance."
The site narrow lots in cities
and wide lots farther out has
a. big influence on home plans.
"Two-story brick houses still
are very salable in the city,"
Huggett says. "But the one
story house, generally dubbed
the ranch type, is gaining. Out
in the suburbs and the country,
the one-story house is more pop
ular." Joseph E. Merrion. one of the
bigger builders in the midwest
and former president of the Na
tional Association of Home
Builders, says homes in the $10,
00'' and $11,000 class sell read
ily "But," he adds, "the great un
tapped market is just below
those figures. The general idea
is to get a house suited to a
family with an income of not
more than $60 a week."
If you drive through the mid
west, you will see new houses
in a wide range of size and style.
Most of them are shaped along
more or less familiar lines. But
there also are houses of the
newest fashion contemporary
and modern designs that get
away from traditional patterns.
George Fred Keck, noted Chi
cago architect and modernist
.whose work takes him around
the central states, reports:
"There seems to be a ten
dency among builders to go into
contemporary design more and
more. Although the number of
modern houses is comparatively
small, the influence of these
houses is tremendous.
"Up to the '30s most of the
architectural schools taught
men how to build in the tradi
tional manner. For the past ten
years all the young people who
came out of these schools had
learned to design in the modern
manner. This influence is going
to be felt"
Texas Rediscovers
The Ranch House
By MARVIN BRAU
AP SUH Writer
Texas home building has
heard the call of the wide open
spaces. The trend is toward
ranch and rambler types.
Low - roofed, wide - eaved,
ground hugging homes city
cousins of the real Texas ranch
houses are displacing in pop
ularity the high-gabled English
style cottage, the stuccoed, tile
roofed Spanish house and the
so-called Colonial two-story.
In some instances, subdivis
ions originally laid out for two
story homes have been re-zoned
for ramblers. The style has
changed lot s i z e s . The 50-foot
lot is almost forgotten. The most
popular now is 70 feet wide.
midwest:
A bookstore manager sairt th
popularity of the ranch is so
great he has difficulty keeping
booklets and drawings of this
nouse in stock.
Since earlv davs. Tp,,n ranch.
crs built their homes with wide
eaves, breezeways and porches
for shade from the? hlirnintf nm
Prevailing Texas breezes blow
u me iiuu oi Mexico, so the
real ranch houses were built
with ells and wines tn siw ev
ery room a southern exposure to
snare every zepnyr.
The new trend extends wn
to lower cost homes. Rooms are
smaller. Modern gadgets are
fewer. But roof lines and floor
plans are similar in all mw
brackets.
The accent is aim nn win
dows. Large picture windows
are popular. Spacious porches
an patios are a rule in the more
expensive homes. Though most
05 Texas is nmed fnr natural
gas heating, a hospitable fire
place is a must in homes of me
dium and higher price levels.
ai ine same tune central heat
ing, formerlv found mainlv in
larger Texas homes, is spread
ing to all homes. Compact heat
ing units that fit in large closets
have made it posible for the
average cottage to have this
luxury. Ducts used for warm air
in winter are used for circulat
ing cool air in summer.
Wilev Roberts, a direftnr of
the Dallas Home Builders asso
ciation, attributes the spread of
the ranch style to modern
buildins methods. The tall rnnf
gave way to the material-sav
ing low roof, he says, because
of improvements in insulation
and air cooling devices.
There is a hie demand fnr
homes with two bedrooms and
two baths, Roberts reports, ev
en when an extra bath adds
about $1,000 to the cost. Older
people, who used to be satisfied
to stay on in the old homestead,
now want new homes just like
newlyweds, he says. The mo
dern two-bedroom house with
its time- saving dishwasher,
washing machine and garbage
disposal unit appeals to them.
Most construction in the Lone
Star state is of brick or stone
veneer. A new favorite is "an
tique" brick.
California Goes
Contemporary
By RICHARD G. CUSH1NG
AP StsfT Wrtur
Ground hugging, flat-roofed,
radiant - heated houses with
broad expanses of glass are
catching on along the west
coast as never before.
Banks and the FHA are com
ing to believe the so-called mo
dern house is a safe risk, since it
is more and more in demand.
People are going along with
imaginative young architects in
acceptance of the unconvention
al. And, encouraged by the
trend in the west, architects
with a flair for functionalism
are migrating west in a steady
stream.
What are these modern
homes? Although they differ
widely, they all use more glass,
more wood inside and out, and
most noticeably make full
use of the outdoors in the form
of patios and sundecks.
Many are built on concrete
slabs, in which are buried net
works of heating pipes. Most
have flat roofs, with overhangs
to furnish shade.
In general the modern houses
of the west coast are warm crea
tions of redwood, brick, stone
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BUTTERFLY ROOF insures light on uphill side of this hillside house
designed by Benjamin Polk, 659 Bay St., San Francisco.
and glass, built with a great
deal of casual outdoor living in
mind. They hug the hillsides,
taking advantage of views.
The trend is toward simplici
ity, easy maintenance, more
light, better traffic patterns.
The dining room has virtually
disappeared in favor of a dining
alcove, sometimes separated
from the kitchen only by a
counter. In areas of temperate
climates the garage has largely
vanished, a simple car shelter
taking its place.
Generally speaking, archi
tects in the San Francisco bay
area pioneered this type of con
struction, fitting it to climate,
spectacular views and vegeta
tion. Houses in this section re
quire less "insulation, permit
easier heating, and, allow much
glass and flat roofs, in the ab
sence of snow.
Just as the California bunga
low and the California ranch
style swept the country, many
architects and builders feel the
California modern will become
popular elsewhere, with modi
fications fitted to climatic con
ditions.
South Breaks
With Tradition
By ED BERND
ap sua writer
Grandma's antiques may be
out of place in ranch type hous
es, but that s where you 11 find
them in Dixie today.
The trend of new housing in
the South is definitely modern.
Not the extreme modern but
the people who are building
houses around Atlanta, for in
stance, now lean toward the
long, low house with all rooms
on one floor, with large win
dows and overhanging eaves.
And, to take advantage of the
moderate climate, new houses
provide for plenty of outdoor
living.
John W. Cherry, an Atlanta
architect, says older people still
like "old fashioned" houses. By
old fashioned, he means with
basements, two stories and an
attic, and no extreme angles and
lines.
But younger couples and
they're in the majority among
home builders now want mo
dern, livable plans.
fTrj ioii io k i s J
The most popular plans call
for two or three bedrooms, two
baths, a large combination liv
ing and dining room, usually in
a "T" or "L" shape.
"Some young brides shudder
when they think how the furni
ture they've inherited will look
in a modern house," the archi
tect says, "but they make it fit,
somehow."
The wide eaves and the shape
of the house serve double pur
pose. They help keep out the
heat of the southern summer,
and they provide sheltered ter
races for outdoor living.
Building restrictions keep
down the more extreme modern
type. City and county restric
tions are not so severe, but regu
lations imposed by private sub
divisions block modernistic
structures.
The Old South, Colonial house
with the tall white columns is
pre-war pre-Civil war be
cause of building costs.
'The cost of mill work on the
columns alone would be prohib
itive now." Cherry says.
'DON'T BE AFRAID OF COLOR'
California's liberal use of color is spreading across the
nation. A few years ago New York's staid Fifth Avenue
was shocked by a yellow door. Today yellow doors, red
doors, blue doors are just among many splashes of color
that add individuality to homes everywhere.
One smart new one-and-a-half story rambling type of
house has a roof of deep green asphalt shingles, a bedroom
wing finished in dark brown stained wooden shingles with
bright yellow shutters and yellow trim under the eaves.
The living room wing is white painted brick with mortar
extruding like frosting between the joints. A final filip
of color is a bright yellow flower box under a broad pic
ture window planted with red geraniums.
Frederic H. Rahr, a professional color consultant who
selected the exterior colors for 30,000 homes in 156 federal
public housing projects, says "color is a convenient means
of personalizing homes. The way to make a house stand
out is to consider all the colors you can, then choose those
you honestly like best. Don't be afraid to trust your own
judgment Use all your initiative and ingenuity."
Rahr advises beginning a color scheme with the roof,
which is usually the largest unbroken mass that meets the
eye. "The roof sets the color pace," he says, "just as the
dress or suit determines the colors a woman will choose for
hat, gloves and other accessories."
Modern roofing materials can be obtained in a variety
of hues. It used to be that red tile or blue slate were the
only alternatives to a weathered gray root However, today
asphalt shingles which, according to the Department of
Commerce, fill more than 80 per cent of the market, are
being made in both solid and blended colors.
BUTTERFLY
HOUSE HANGS
ON HILLSIDE
One trouble with building a
house on the side of a hill is that
the uphill side often suffers
from lack of light.
In California where more and
more houses are being built on
hillsides, Benjamin Polk, of
659 Bay street, San Francisco,
offers an answer to this prob
lem. He has worked out a house
with a roof that soars upward
from the center line. Viewed
from the end, the house looks
like a butterfly.
The upward slant of the roof
at the eaves lets in far more
light on the uphill side, and on
the downhill side it increases
the window space that accents
so many modern homes. Polk
also has provided "fins" on his
balcony which give the bed
rooms on that side complete pri
vacy. Interior drains carry off wa
ter from the roof trough.
The living room fireplace is
set in the uphill wall, next to
the terrace, so that its reverse
side may be used as an outdoor
barbecue.
For both floors and ceilings.
Polk uses a plank-and-beam
construction principle instead
of the conventional joist. He
thereby gains still more space
for high ceilings, and makes
room underneath for an extra
bedroom, bath, and a playroom
if family needs require.
Flat-Rim Bowl Helps
Make Bathroom Vanity
With a flat-rim lavatory bowl,
making a combination vanity
lavatory is easy.
At either side of the lavatory
and flush with the rim, a plastic
topped, water-resistant board is
attached firmly to the wall, and
joints around the bowl and at
the wall are sealed with plastic
cement. A well-lighted mirror
is placed on the wall above.
Extra storage space can be
provided by building a plastic
topped floor cabinet around the
flat-rimmed sink. Plastic col
ors are available to harmonize
with the bathroom fixtures,
walls and floors.
Do not sow seeds indoors too
early. In a greenhouse, 8 to 10
weeks before the plants can be
set out in. the garden is enough;
in a hot-bed, S to 8 weeks, in a
cold-frame, or box in the win
dow, 4 to 6 weeks, will be early
enough.