Eichler homes rediscovery: when suburban was modern & livable
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 11 ม.ค. 2015
- Builder Joseph Eichler brought high-end modern design to suburban subdivisions. From 1950 through the mid-seventies his company built 11,000 affordable architect-designed homes in California.
Steve Jobs credited the builder as a design inspiration for Apple. ““Eichler did a great thing,” he told his biographer Walter Isaacson, “I love it when you can bring really great design and simple capability to something that doesn't cost much.”
It all began in 1942 when Eichler, after living in a rented Frank Lloyd Wright home in the San Francisco Bay Area, commissioned Lloyd Wright disciple Robert Anshen to design something similar for himself. His $100,000 home never got built and instead, the two began work on $10,000 modern tract homes with floor-to-ceiling glass walls, skylights, and radiant-heated floors.
Over the following decades, Eichler’s homes became a large part of the “California modern” movement and today many have rediscovered the elegant simplicity of Eichler living.
On *faircompanies: faircompanies.com/videos/eich... - แนวปฏิบัติและการใช้ชีวิต
I've always like the houses that brought the outdoors in. Very simple and clean design.
Moral of the story: GENIUS GRANTS IMORTALITY. Absolutely fabulous and timeless design. I think I've found my dream house design The atrium deign is EVERYTHING!!
They need a lot of love, money and they leak and are cold, and hot, but worth the effort and are pretty damn cool looking. It was a really fascinating architectural concept. -Wish I’d bought one ages ago. Cheers.
This is basically my dream house. Why more houses aren't built with courtyards and glass ceilings/walls is beyond me. Especially in cities where they may not have as much space for a backyard. Courtyard is perfect if you have pets too! They can hang out outside and not escape.
Agreed. This style was popular in the U.K. in the 60s but for some reason never caught on. Now we still get mock Tudor monstrosities! I would love to build something like it some day!
@@Sonnymonster its not like the style never caught on, it was just that after ww2 land was cheap and these houses were affordable to the middle income earning family (even if it was just the father working 5 days a week and the wife was a housewife.. these was the good old days).. but then land became more expensive as population grew so real estate developers pushed their design to townhouses or apartments to adjust to the cost of land.. courtyard houses were already a thing back then in asia, especially with chinese and japanese architecture (japanese kyo-machiya houses which have small indoor gardens)
Modern building codes
You can really see where the architect was engaged with his brain, and not his wallet
I am just discovering what Mid Century Modern is all about. I am in love with the designs. I restored an old 1912 craftsman home and that is what I live in. But I am wanting a change. My dog, cat, wife and I could be very happy in one of these homes. Just wish there were some in my neck of the woods.
I was born and raised in one in Walnut Creek from the 50's. I miss it.
Love Eichler’s and he was concerned that all races were able to buy homes in his developments. Not much is published about that. He had a great vision and was a good man. I know in Southern California that the homes in Los Angeles county are under the Mills Act. If the Eichler home was not changed on the exterior the homeowners get a very large discount on their yearly real estate taxes. It is important to preserve such wonderful architecture.
5:55 Amazing street filled with Eichler homes and story of guy that moved there in 1950s.
I love the fact that Eichler wasn’t driven by greed as a primary motivation for getting these homes underway and in the words of one of the most iconic architects, ‘homes are a machine for living’ where every part of the design brings a richness for those who don’t just inhabit but thrive in these machines.
These remind me a lot of the open designed container homes, with the atrium area in the center and such. These are great designs.
I've never really heard of these houses, but man, I have really fallen in love. The last two houses (I think, I got a little lost) just seemed amazing. I think I'm going to research into these a bit more, as I am just super in love with the look and feel of them!
Thanks for shedding the light, Kirsten!
I love the Eichler homes, but the time when they were actually affordable is long past. I wish someone would do a reboot of that concept and make a truly affordable modern home. The key is keeping it small, but really making it luxurious in terms of design and materials. The only thing like that which I'm aware of is Rocio Romero's cool kit home called the LV home. That's more of an evolved ultra-modern style, but it reminds me of the Eichler spirit.
Unfortunately it's completely impossible due to the economics of modern America. Taking away inflation, the average price of a house was the same as about two to three years of a family income. And of course now it's 10 times that.
The affordability is only in the fact of where these developments lay now. The idea of getting one of these babies for under $10K when the concept initiated would have been a most welcome advantage but once people realised the true potential and got over their prejudices, then they became in big demand and now the ‘home being a machine in which to live’ people want to hold onto them and so ‘supply and demand’ becomes the counteraction stripping away economical standpoints.
Way ahead of his time awesome bringing the outdoors in!
My brother in law is an architect and bought 2 of this houses, just beautiful. Both had the all glass walls facing a courtyard.
What I like about the first house is that the kids have taken over. It is a very kid friendly concept. And I also love how the trees just seem to be part of the architecture. I live in Scarborough, just next to Toronto. Unfortunately this kind of house wouldn't work here. It gets much too cold for this concept to be practicle. Too bad, because I really like it!
I'm a Scarberian as well:) It could work just double paned windows...really nice place, I've always loved Frank Lloyd Wright's architectural influences
Mike Walker 😃 Sorry! I lived in Kensington Market for years, and thought I'd Scarborough as a foreign country! 😁 My brother and his wife lived in Courtice, and have just moved to Chatham. I am so confused!
I would have the atrium full of vegetable plants and miniature fruit trees. Beautiful
Great idea. This house would be nice to grow plants, veggies and fruits in.
eric jones That would be amazing!
So would I. I love growing my own vegetables.
I grew up in an Eichler house, Diamond Heights in San Francisco. I remember it was very comfortable and logical. You could have privacy or be with everyone else with very little effort. It was very light even though the side walls were solid. There were several skylights on the upper floor. The atrium was very nice and private, it was just right for an urban garden. All those windows were single-pane glass. It would not be practical in the Midwest, but in Northern California it was ideal. These people all remodeled the bathrooms and kitchens. The houses were very amenable to modifications. The finishing was not fancy, but it was modern and attractive. My folks paid $42,000 in 1963. I imagine that house is worth close to a million now.
There are Eichlers in Diamond Heights? How cool! It would probably go for over 2 million these days.
2 for sale @ $2.5 million as of 2021
I have been searching for a style like this all my life. It is weird how I never heard of this Eichler house before. Absolutely brilliant. The only downside is... security issues. I cannot imagine building one just anywhere. With the first trip there would be a break in
There is a visceral quality to the love of these mid century homes.
wow, I studied architecture and I am just finding out about Eichler. Mad respect for his dedication for the common single family luxury. simple and livable!
Perfect houses. Thanks you so much Kirsten I have always loved Eichlers.
This brings back so many memories. My best friend lived in one of these houses in Castro Valley. Awesome house.
Nice. I like the inside outside theme. Sort of like a castle with the courtyard in the middle. Gives me ideas for the house I plan to build
I just love the openness!
I'm glad that you visited this house. I think if I hadn't become a teacher, I would have gone into residential architecture.
I'm much more interested in small houses than the tiny houses. I like to say I'm a "smallist", not a "minimalist." So, I'm glad you're exploring a variety of homes. I would love it if my own small house was as well designed as this one!
Do your own design then an architect can review and let you know what is impossible !
This was so far ahead of its time.. thank you for another great video kirsten!
Love these homes! Thank you for educating us Kirsten. Now, to find one in LA:\
thanks so much, i know of one 2 like this, but snow load is a problem at times, beautiful homes, perfect if stairs could be a chore as we get older and break a hip, ha 5 thumbs up, best show for me
These homes remind me of classical architecture. The homes are based off of a central courtyard or peristyle like ancient Greek and Roman homes.
I love indoor/outdoor living.
I love these type of homes
I have to say . . the amount of time to do this video was perfect. So many videos are like 2 minutes and you really can't get into a video when its too short or too long. I think this was great and I'll save it.
We actually have 1 of these in Savannah! A Great home!
Lovely home! Thanks for the share Kirsten!
Lovely homes!!
However, the empty atrium is dismal----They have been there seven yrs. and it's still empty!!
Another wonderful idea on simple architecture Thank You Kirsten
Wow, I really want an atrium in the middle of my future home too! I prefer the openness of his house versus McMansions.
I love these homes!
that is an exceptionally nice Eichler
I LOVE this house. So beautiful!
I really enjoyed the video. Love your work! Thank you!
Great walk around. Cool digs
love these houses.
I love it......Never knew the name for the style of homes. I've been drawing/designing this same style for my soon to be tiny home, but out of "shipping containers" or maybe even "Cobb".
A structure of post and beam far outweighs a container where you have to structurally increase to cater for fenestrations. These are gems and should never be mentioned in the same sentence of ‘gravel’ containers.
Wow. They've renovated it beautifully. It's beautiful and functional. Floor plan would work well for shipping containers.
This guy is spot on. Very good points made.
good to have the glass and be protected and love the garden in the middle
great episode
"You're less likely to hide somewhere. It makes us interact more." Puberty nightmare.
Love this!
I love this style of home. Our house with plenty of Winter weather on the IL/WI border has more glass than not for the walls, but we have not one skylight window. I feel that if we did it would cost quite a bit more for heat. Though it sure would be nice.
Thanks Kirsten for this fascinating look at an architect's work. It is great to hear from the residents about their experiences of living in and using the homes.
Mỹ boyfriend recently painted a remodel/restoration job of one of these houses, but it was smack dab in the middle of Las Vegas (not to mention the only one of its kind in the neighborhood) Excellent walk-through feeling.
I LOVE these homes!! It's a dream of mine to have one.
I love the open air aspect. Not for the shy/private person.
Why? It's completely isolated from the neighbors on all three sides and from the street. Are you suggesting people would be shy toward their own family?
The irony. These house are some of the most sought after and expensive now.
we live in a time where architecture kinda lost sight of its purpose.. back then these houses were affordable to middle income earning families (with fathers working 5 days a week with housewives to watch over the kids).. but now, architecture doesn't start until half a million dollars, architecture deals more about the architects getting a new range rover after a huge gig
@@pihermoso11 I agree with you 💯.
There needs to be a push for a return to that sensibility of purpose.
Like he said in the video, "this is a good California home because we have temperate weather." he's right - that home wouldn't work up here in the white north...
Why not?
Tom Stone I'd imagine it would make it harder to heat.
AngryF4ce It makes it extremely easy to heat... for free.... by the sun (if and where available). Sometimes too much heat.
Tom Stone Maybe the nearly flat roof might be an issue for snow.
AngryF4ce But why? Flat roofs are easy to get on top of to shovel the snow off :-)
Very interesting discovery.
I just found out about this channel, love it. Is there similar channel like this?
That was beautiful! This would not work for me since work night shift, but could see it working for me if were normal day shift worker bee.
Great video! Which Eichler floorplan is this family's home?
I've never heard of Joseph Eichler until recently, when I heard a story on NPR regarding Joseph Eichler Homes. So naturally I'm curious about them.
I caught in between an eichler or mid centry modern once im able to purchase my dream home.
Our eichler had radiant floor heat, built in 1955. News flash. There was a copper shortage in 1955 and so they used steel pipes. The steel pipes lasted less than 10 years! Now there is no longer radiant heat in the floor, we put a forced-air system on the roof.
This wouldn't work for me because I'm big on privacy, but I love the concept of it. This would make a nice beach house or a play house just for company.
I watched the movie again. It's hard to decipher where one room starts and the other room ends. For example, I don't know how big the living room is or how big the kitchen is, or where the bedrooms are. I guess the lighting wasn't that great either but interested in the design definitely mid-century.
long time ago Indian homes had a similar plan with a courtyard in the centre and rooms all round.were supposed to be Vastu based houses.
So is this why eichler never focused on the Palm Springs area because his houses were pre fab and intended to be affordable to anyone wanting to live in a new home and housing in Palm Springs were more up scaled and high end? Any information on this question would be very much appreciated !✨✨✨
If one has the flexibility of brain, I imagine they could learn from this design and make it match even the passivhaus standards. BTW there was an Eichler inspired house in South Haven, Michigan when I was growing up. That is the great white north! Also @14:10 do I see pv panels on his roof? Smart man!
Eichler was the developer not the designer/Architect. There were many great Architects involved with these homes and often get overlooked because of the name and reach of Eichler at the time.
What's with the three empty pots in the atrium?
AHH!! I live here! :D
15-20 grand back in the late 40s, 50s, and 60s. Now you can’t get one for no more than 800k +
How are we supposed to live anymore? CA home prices got me down.
Heh, Try 2.5 as of 2021. Also these prices were pretty high. The average home price in 1955 was $3000. California has always been expensive
Was this shot in Palo Alto?
I'm actually surprised at how dark it is inside. I think those overhangs are a problem. I have a lot of South facing glass and it's much brighter and allows for solar gain during the winter. So much so I can leave the heat off most of the time. I would never go back to not having a lot of glass but that home looks like it has a fairly low lux level because of the roof overhangs.
Yes exactly as it was designed. You've pointed out the entire point of the structure. it's California not Oklahoma. You don't want direct sunlight coming in your house or it's gonna be 95 degrees even in the winter. The design is smart because it allows lots of ample light and gives you a way to get away from it in dark corners.
A lot of the old Capehart housing in the Military built in the 50s I think Pinched Eichlers designs.
how much is the cost???
I see vintage A&W drive in Root beer stands
Do plans for such homes still exist ? Can they still be made for $10k?
Yes, and no.
The middle needs tiles and an in ground Spa lol
Oh the things I could do with this house :D
El día que este canal tengas subtítulos será hostia.
Steve Jobs brought me here.
I agree with him about the McMansions horrible places
Joseph Eichler was looking at having a 100,000K house designed and built for him in 1942? Really?
I'm glad that never got built...jmo
Great channel, thanks.
I hope that gu at the beginning just misspoke, it would be depressing to think that someone owning an Eichler thinks he was the designer and not just the developer.
Even in Northern California these houses must be expensive to heat in the winter.
Eichler also built a high-rise residential building on Russian Hill in San Francisco -- Eichler Summit. It would be interesting to know if that building was an innovative as his houses.
they're cool, and spacious too.. doesnt look like they come with a garage/workshop tho.
If you watch as they drive through the neighborhood you can see two garage doors on the front of the homes.
There's a lot of iechlers in Concord ca, very inefficient design, cost a fortune to heat in the winter.
Mike Jones I grew up in Concord in the '50s. Eichlers were the "weird" houses. Lol.
Modern and sexy. Thanks!
With so much glass, there is no place to hang paintings.
how doo i turn off 60fps? shit looks terrible
Apart from wall colour (cold green doesn't do a good job to make places more comfy) this is great idea and execution.
Unreleated - almost every time I see these houses built in warm parts of USA, I think - for crying out loud, could you consider for a second, that climate can and will change in next 20 years, and your all glass/cardboard houses is terrible at efficiency and reliability?
I owned an Eichler in Richmond CA, and all this is true, but the bedrooms were too darn small, and it was right on the Hayward Fault, so jiggles every night. Barf green, really? I’d have chosen brown. . .
Housing discrimination is illegal in CA. Period. To quote another responder "get over it!"
The very first line -- "This is a house designed by Joseph Eichler" -- is erroneous. Eichler hired architects, very good ones, to design the houses he built. This is a very common misconception . . .
Joseph eichler never designed a house. He was a land developer and hired architects to design the houses. Also you state there were very few designs which is also incorrect. Each development project had a brand new set of 5 to 10 different plans (which could all be reversed) that buyers could chose and customize. Additionally several developments had a landmark signature home commissioned buy the buyer or landowner that subdivided which was a one off design usually larger than all the other houses. There are hundreds of different Eichler floor plans. What made them affordable and cheap were smart things such as using the exact same number of windows and doors for every single house no matter what the design was so they knew they would just need to order 235 sliding glass doors for 32 houses in a development. also, most were on square pads and would have almost the identical square footage so that they could order tubing for the heating and not have to worry about each plan and what the customer would order. They could have it all warehoused.
In and out at the same time. It is like waking up to God.
I will never understand how people could love these things. It's like living in a cold office building with cement floors, steel/aluminum edging, windows everywhere so no privacy, very little storage, no carpet, no drapery, nothing that you can add to make it a warm, cozy feeling.
Probably depends on climate. In tropical Australia where we live outdoors and don't need heating in winter it would be great. In hot climates the cold concretes floors are nice to walk on. They stay cold inside the house, where's as outside is hot.
Sorry not everyone lives in middle America where you have no sense of modern style in a farmhouse full of knicknacks and big puffy 80s furniture with plaid curtains and cheesy oak trim everywhere
Would you start accepting Bitcoin donations? Its pretty hard to pay online by other means
I hear freddie roach?