My Dad built a fabulous midcentury modern design house by hand. And I mean by hand. He made the bricks with a cinva ram, lugged stones up from the creek for stonewalls, cut down trees for the posts, mixed the concrete in a concrete mixer, demolished old dance halls to get hardwood and windows. It's the most beautiful house.
My grandfather did the same in 1948. He purchased the timber and brick, but built the rest by hand. He and his neighbors helped build each other's homes. That neighborhood has been undergoing redevelopment lately as it's been the desired area for rich folk. Until recently, my grandpa's house was one of the last original houses still standing because it was a very nice house with great curb appeal. Unfortunately it went for sale a couple years ago and someone with a lot of cash bought it and put their mansion on it. I tried to buy it to preserve the history, but they had too much cash.
@@Indylimburg Oh, my God! How sad! It must have been painful for you. 😡Some people have no taste, no sense of history, and no sense of belonging to a place.
@@elephantintheroom5678 Thanks. That's just life. It was sad to see the house go because it was a very pleasant classic looking house with my grandpa's fingerprints all over it.
Great talk. I was in Palm Springs a few years ago and was talking with an architect at a party. He said that most of these MCM homes that people fawn over were basically junk, built very poorly with cheap materials. His thought was that you'd be much better off building a new MCM home in the same style, but with better materials than were used back in the 50s. As he explained, many of these were just cheap weekend getaway places for people in LA, and they didn't want to spend much on them back then.
I really like this video series an am learning a lot. To really appreciate these homes it helps to have grown up in one. If not for these designs and construction efficiency - most of us would have grown up in garden apartments - if we were lucky. Several points: - It was not just the house you were buying - you would get a yard for your kids and yourselves. (I call this the Government's version of land reform). This might not sound like as big a deal as the house - but many of the returning veterans grew up in apartments and rowhouses - and as you pointed out - frequently sharing things like bathrooms with other families. And, at least in DC, returning vets had to know someone just to get into an apartment once they got married. And remember - that prewar home ownership rate included not just single family homes, but structures like old rowhouses. Townhouses in the suburbs were not common at all until the 1970s. So the overwhelming majority of new builds/new homeowners were single family homes. New homes/schools/stores/parks. What's not to like. - It was the GI Bill and VA loans that had the biggest impact. Not FHA. In terms of the 30 year mortgage (with no prepayment penalty) - that was Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's doing and not the FHA. (As far as I know, the US is the only country where you can get a 30 year loan - with no prepayment penalty). Post WWII, the VA loans had 20 year and 25 year terms. My parents 1950 VA loan was for 25 years at 4%. I think it was 5% down or a flat rate of about $500. - As mentioned below, homes did not come with dryers - that's what clotheslines were for. Neither did they have any form of air conditioning. If you wanted a widow air conditioner you would have to get an electrician to heavy up the line to the room. In addition, I never even saw a dishwasher until I was in my late teens. They lived in the house almost 70 years and never had one installed. Nor had I been inside a garage until I moved out. And bathrooms? One - 5' by 7'. I always used to define "rich people" as the folks that had more than one bathroom in their home. People like architects hit on these designs all the time - but I have never heard anyone who grew up in one of these complain - on the contrary, we are truly grateful for people like the Levitts and others who made home ownership affordable. They may not be grand, custom-crafted "mansions for the insecure" which were designed to garner "clicks" on You-Tube, but they were homes and not just houses.
Just imagine... all the kids living right around you, brand new school to go to, everyone had at least one television set, it must have been a kid paradise. Plus no Internet or other negatives, just kids playing outdoors or at each others' houses all day long.
Hey Brent, new to your channel and I’m in love with this series. I’m not at all a builder, but my partner and I are looking to purchase a house in the next year and this series is so educational and I feel so much more informed anytime we look at houses. Thanks a bunch, your channel is amazing 🙌🏽
As a student of building material history: plywood comes from furniture builders. It was very expensive and often made from expensive wood. Veneers of beautiful woods were often on the faces. This allowed strong, thin panels that could be steamed into curved shapes and did not require structural reinforcing. In early 20th century plywood was used in specialty applications, and was still more expensive than solid panels, so not used in construction. The ingredients that make construction plywood practical are adhesive development and industrial machinery to cut the plies off the log. Cheap logs can be used for most of the plies with only face plies being high quality. For my 1929 house, where plywood is used, I only use marine plywood because it will last, even if soaked. Workmen tell me I am crazy to spend the money on marine plywood.
Brent, have you ever heard of a Lustron house? I’ve been reading about them lately, they were also designed to alleviate the housing shortage and were in business only from 1947-1950. These houses were all steel with some type of rust proof porcelain finish ( 4 color choices!) They were delivered by flatbed truck and bolted together on a concrete slab. I believe there were a few basic designs in the 800-1200 sq. Ft. range. Many still exist and are considered “ historical”. Many were dismantled because they were so hard to modify or build additions on. There even was an accessory kit to hang pictures on the wall! I read about one family that got so tired of shocks from static electricity that they flipped all the light switches with a wooden spoon! If you haven’t heard about these houses I think you would find the history very interesting.
Newbies to Levittown, NY had to learn what it was like to pay taxes for building a new town/development. Billy Joel grew up in Levittown, NY on Meeting Lane, Hicksville. The development took up land in multiple towns. Look for a used copy of The Levittowners, by Herbert Gans, Ways of Life and Politics in a New Suburban Community. He was a professor who moved into the NJ Levittown with his wife for the first 2 years of its existence. He was honest from the start about why he bought a place for being a Participant-Observer and told people what he was doing as a study. People were good about it and accepted his being there.
Great video. After watching, I stumbled across a lone MCM in an older neighborhood recently while waiting for wife and daughter to checkout a carport sale. I am really curious about the roof framing, but i haven't been able to find any details on-line other than a june? '56 issue of American Builder, btw thanks for sharing this reference. I am trying to understand how they connected the exposed beams and the rafters, braced beams, etc. but i am not finding much online? Any suggestions?
It sounds like what the housing market needs is more high rise construction in the downtown areas of cities. Less track homes, more custom builds using architects.
Another idea, it would be great if all the smaller builders subcontracted jobs through the large corporate builders. That way, it gives everyone a chance that has the knowledge and experience in the construction industry. They should try a model that pays the builder for how many houses they finish per year. Many guys are ok with not being a big builder, that will help the nice guy builders grow his team, and company. The large corporate builders will now focus more on designing cities and large master planned areas. They would work on getting everything planned and all the infrastructure set for the builders. Architects can then design homes that people want to live in without having the need or want to remodel in the future. Those plans would then be handed over to the builders. The large corporate builders would have a team of retired engineers and builders, inspecting all work, getting all the builders the training they need, this will also help with the very big problem in the construction industry, which is, grown men fighting each other trying to cut the other guy down. This would really help crank out the luxury housing we so desperately need. Also the Hispanic work force is just as good as all the other guys. They, like the others just need to be shown exactly what is expected. If a guy cannot visualize what is exactly expected, then he is slowed, he's trying to figure out where to start when there's no clear view to the path ahead. Also they should offer an immigration program that allows guys to get Citizenship, or social security benefits, after they have worked or built so many homes. To jump start the process, large corporate builders should offer no interest, very flexible and no payment loans for a given period, say 10-15 years. This would help the retired folks design homes with architects, without havi g the need to worry about costs. If the corporation that owns the house is the lender, they can hold the loan, when the person passes or moves to assisted living, the home would revert to the corporation. The corporation can then offer a lifetime lease to the next person for whatever price or rent they desire. It would be a great idea to get large teams of guys from this country and others. Once the teams finish building here, they can focus on helping rebuild Mexico. Also we should focus more on building close to the equator, say, if an ice age was to start.
You should pitch this idea to the large corporate builders. Maybe they will make you the head of their company, you seem like a nice guy, you should be at the top.
Good luck trying to convince people to raise their family in a highrise building. Young people with no children and older people who children have moved out would like high-rise properties but it is not appealing to those that raise a family. Suburb homes allowed families to have options in the 1950s but it was not the reason for the current state of ugly properties. Everything from public buildings, corporate and educational looks horrible today. The home is no different because they all tend to be designed by the same groups of people. And the planning authorities also have a hand in it.
Except that living in a high rise in a big city with a family totally sucks. Most families like living in their own home and not hearing every argument their neighbors have, smelling their cooking, or dealing crappy building maintenance. We would rather live in a mud hut on land we own than some high-rise monument to human misery. Track homes serve a purpose for people buying their first homes. Thats where it should have stopped. The problem is that track builders made so much money selling volume that they took over the entire market except the very tip top of the market.
An important ingredient in mid century modern is building standards. Plumbing and electrical standards followed by building structure. Before standards every home was craftsman built. As standardized products became available, builders could buy components that fit together.
Property taxes in NY were an issue as all the schools, etc. had to be paid for and the development was the tax base, the upstairs was difficult to install a bathroom without original build, you are in the attic with angled ceilings and walls for one large bedroom or two smaller rooms.
How are Levitt style suburbs different than Frederick Law Olmsteads' Riverside suburb from the 1800's? Does a suburb necessarily mean bad news for craftmanship?
I don't think you're comparing suburbs but building quality in those time periods. It isn't the suburbs that challenges craftsmanship, if I implied that I didn't mean to. Thanks.
@@BrentHull I suppose I'm wondering if the whole idea of planning an entire neighborhood for a bunch of speculative clients rather than building individual houses on individual lots for specific clients didn't contribute to the decline in build quality. Maybe opening the pandora's box of speculative suburbs was the death knell for artistry. I've been really enjoying all of your videos and have been asking myself these questions about the decline in quality and craftsmanship for years.
Interesting what some want. Some want beauty, some want affordability. Some view those two as opposing, and some view those to be wrestled with. The mid-century long flamboyant overhangs and excessive glass are seemingly opposite of cost-saving.
Actually both are cheaper. Glass is much less expensive then a wood wall with cladding on both sides. Open beamed over hangs have no boxed eave or other trim details that cost money. Thanks for watching.
Brent I am a Home Inspector here in New England CT. I see the full range of residential construction and have compiled data for a "book" I plan on writing. I was wondering if you are interested in some sort of collaboration at a minimal level, nothing too time consuming maybe sharing information, observations or theory's.
Thank you Brent for a great lecture🙏 I wonder how you manage to build and learn/know so much 🤔 is there anywhere info about what the 26 steps construction process were? Thanks a lot...note: as russian-canadian I am can assure that the only thing that made US economic superpower was suburban sprawl, by limiting it US will ruin its economy (as China does)
You have spurred me to read SUBURBAN NATION. As you say, the ripple effects of the 50's are still strong today. Cars, suburbia,congestion,sprawl, have permeated life. I bet if I had been one of those people in Levittown, I would have been as happy as everyone else. I am older, so I will check out before climate change hits really hard. Not to be a downer, but I feel sorry for future people. Science may ?? come up with solutions, or will we have to revive things from 100 years ago, like James Kunstler says? Eventually, the limits of the current system will stick out like a sore thumb? or will people simply accept those limits? Hey, plant the right tree in the right place everybody, and promote beautiful design!
EICHLER stole every good idea he ever had from Cliff May. Who invented the sliding glass door and the horizontal privacy window before WWII? Cliff May. Who designed houses with reasonable circulation space in the kitchen? Cliff May NOT Eichler! Who decided that closets were impediments to minimalism and therefore avoided them like the plague? Eichler, that's who. Every housewife I know wants closets! Who neglected circulation space in bathrooms and kitchens? Eichler. Eichler's designs looked great - just like Frank Lloyd Wright, they were uncomfortable. Cliff May designed comfortable livable homes. Eichler did not. His homes could not be adapted for places like Boston and Chicago, and are limited to milder climates. Eichler homes are invariably "updated" by adding bathrooms and closets, two trivial features that Eichler eschewed. Cliff May houses were comfortable, livable designs. Who introduced modern production principals to suburban builders (scissor trusses, lally columns, adaptable foundation plans for slab, crawlspace or basement, easily mirrored and re-oriented houses to account for lot differences, etc.) CLIFF MAY NOT EICHLER! Eichler did very small developments in ideal settings with a select number of builders. All 11,000 of his designs dot So Cal and the mildest climates in the States and disappear in the rest of the country. In 1954, 50% as in HALF - of all building permits issued in the United States were issued for Cliff May floorpans. For reference, over 234,000 new house starts were recoded in 1954. That's over 117,000 Cliff May houses in a single year, as compared to the few thousand Eichler managed over the entirety of his career. Having Cliff May's stamp on a plan was a guarantee of plan approval (as my parents discovered when they built their home). Eichler was the darling of the AIA, May was snubbed then and now. Get your snobby nose out of the air and take a look at who ACTUALLY built the suburban landscape of America!
@@BrentHull Now I feel bad about getting upset with you. The real problem is that Eichler was a developer - not an architect - and it showed. Try: Western Ranch Houses by Cliff May Paperback - January 1, 1997 by Cliff May (Author), Paul C. Johnson (Author). It's available in paperback and was the birth of the California Ranch (marketed in Sunset magazine as an opportunity to live the 'California dream'). Less experimental and considerably more practical than Eichler houses - they're worth a look. Thanks for great content! Linda
My Dad built a fabulous midcentury modern design house by hand. And I mean by hand. He made the bricks with a cinva ram, lugged stones up from the creek for stonewalls, cut down trees for the posts, mixed the concrete in a concrete mixer, demolished old dance halls to get hardwood and windows. It's the most beautiful house.
Wow! that is impressive.
You should post a video tour
My grandfather did the same in 1948. He purchased the timber and brick, but built the rest by hand. He and his neighbors helped build each other's homes. That neighborhood has been undergoing redevelopment lately as it's been the desired area for rich folk. Until recently, my grandpa's house was one of the last original houses still standing because it was a very nice house with great curb appeal. Unfortunately it went for sale a couple years ago and someone with a lot of cash bought it and put their mansion on it. I tried to buy it to preserve the history, but they had too much cash.
@@Indylimburg Oh, my God! How sad! It must have been painful for you. 😡Some people have no taste, no sense of history, and no sense of belonging to a place.
@@elephantintheroom5678 Thanks. That's just life. It was sad to see the house go because it was a very pleasant classic looking house with my grandpa's fingerprints all over it.
Thanks Brent and Alice for another great learning experience!
Glad you enjoyed it!!
Thanks for sharing your knowledge. I could listen to you every day !
Very kind! Thanks.
Great talk. I was in Palm Springs a few years ago and was talking with an architect at a party. He said that most of these MCM homes that people fawn over were basically junk, built very poorly with cheap materials. His thought was that you'd be much better off building a new MCM home in the same style, but with better materials than were used back in the 50s. As he explained, many of these were just cheap weekend getaway places for people in LA, and they didn't want to spend much on them back then.
Interesting. That certainly rings true with what I learned. Thanks for sharing.
I really like this video series an am learning a lot. To really appreciate these homes it helps to have grown up in one. If not for these designs and construction efficiency - most of us would have grown up in garden apartments - if we were lucky. Several points:
- It was not just the house you were buying - you would get a yard for your kids and yourselves. (I call this the Government's version of land reform). This might not sound like as big a deal as the house - but many of the returning veterans grew up in apartments and rowhouses - and as you pointed out - frequently sharing things like bathrooms with other families. And, at least in DC, returning vets had to know someone just to get into an apartment once they got married. And remember - that prewar home ownership rate included not just single family homes, but structures like old rowhouses. Townhouses in the suburbs were not common at all until the 1970s. So the overwhelming majority of new builds/new homeowners were single family homes. New homes/schools/stores/parks. What's not to like.
- It was the GI Bill and VA loans that had the biggest impact. Not FHA. In terms of the 30 year mortgage (with no prepayment penalty) - that was Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's doing and not the FHA. (As far as I know, the US is the only country where you can get a 30 year loan - with no prepayment penalty). Post WWII, the VA loans had 20 year and 25 year terms. My parents 1950 VA loan was for 25 years at 4%. I think it was 5% down or a flat rate of about $500.
- As mentioned below, homes did not come with dryers - that's what clotheslines were for. Neither did they have any form of air conditioning. If you wanted a widow air conditioner you would have to get an electrician to heavy up the line to the room. In addition, I never even saw a dishwasher until I was in my late teens. They lived in the house almost 70 years and never had one installed. Nor had I been inside a garage until I moved out. And bathrooms? One - 5' by 7'. I always used to define "rich people" as the folks that had more than one bathroom in their home.
People like architects hit on these designs all the time - but I have never heard anyone who grew up in one of these complain - on the contrary, we are truly grateful for people like the Levitts and others who made home ownership affordable. They may not be grand, custom-crafted "mansions for the insecure" which were designed to garner "clicks" on You-Tube, but they were homes and not just houses.
THx for sharing.
Levitt also built Shopping Centers, churches, pools and ball fields. It was an excellent place to grow up in.
Agreed! Thanks.
Just imagine... all the kids living right around you, brand new school to go to, everyone had at least one television set, it must have been a kid paradise. Plus no Internet or other negatives, just kids playing outdoors or at each others' houses all day long.
Hey Brent, new to your channel and I’m in love with this series.
I’m not at all a builder, but my partner and I are looking to purchase a house in the next year and this series is so educational and I feel so much more informed anytime we look at houses.
Thanks a bunch, your channel is amazing 🙌🏽
Wow, thanks so much. Glad to hear it helps. Good luck.
The house I grew up in didn’t have any plywood. There was only w washer. The dryer was a cloths line. My folks where the first owners
Interesting. Thx.
As a student of building material history: plywood comes from furniture builders. It was very expensive and often made from expensive wood. Veneers of beautiful woods were often on the faces. This allowed strong, thin panels that could be steamed into curved shapes and did not require structural reinforcing.
In early 20th century plywood was used in specialty applications, and was still more expensive than solid panels, so not used in construction. The ingredients that make construction plywood practical are adhesive development and industrial machinery to cut the plies off the log. Cheap logs can be used for most of the plies with only face plies being high quality.
For my 1929 house, where plywood is used, I only use marine plywood because it will last, even if soaked. Workmen tell me I am crazy to spend the money on marine plywood.
Thanks.
Brent, have you ever heard of a Lustron house? I’ve been reading about them lately, they were also designed to alleviate the housing shortage and were in business only from 1947-1950. These houses were all steel with some type of rust proof porcelain finish ( 4 color choices!) They were delivered by flatbed truck and bolted together on a concrete slab. I believe there were a few basic designs in the 800-1200 sq. Ft. range. Many still exist and are considered “ historical”. Many were dismantled because they were so hard to modify or build additions on. There even was an accessory kit to hang pictures on the wall! I read about one family that got so tired of shocks from static electricity that they flipped all the light switches with a wooden spoon! If you haven’t heard about these houses I think you would find the history very interesting.
Cool, I'll check them out. Thanks for sharing.
Can you list the books in that stack on the table please in addition to Eichler? 😅
I'll look.
Newbies to Levittown, NY had to learn what it was like to pay taxes for building a new town/development. Billy Joel grew up in Levittown, NY on Meeting Lane, Hicksville. The development took up land in multiple towns.
Look for a used copy of The Levittowners, by Herbert Gans, Ways of Life and Politics in a New Suburban Community. He was a professor who moved into the NJ Levittown with his wife for the first 2 years of its existence. He was honest from the start about why he bought a place for being a Participant-Observer and told people what he was doing as a study. People were good about it and accepted his being there.
Thanks so much. Yes, I've read parts of it. Cheers
Great video. After watching, I stumbled across a lone MCM in an older neighborhood recently while waiting for wife and daughter to checkout a carport sale. I am really curious about the roof framing, but i haven't been able to find any details on-line other than a june? '56 issue of American Builder, btw thanks for sharing this reference. I am trying to understand how they connected the exposed beams and the rafters, braced beams, etc. but i am not finding much online? Any suggestions?
Thanks, the decking boards locked things together. I'll see if i can find something. Old copies of American builder might work. Thx.
It sounds like what the housing market needs is more high rise construction in the downtown areas of cities. Less track homes, more custom builds using architects.
That would help. Yes.
Another idea, it would be great if all the smaller builders subcontracted jobs through the large corporate builders. That way, it gives everyone a chance that has the knowledge and experience in the construction industry. They should try a model that pays the builder for how many houses they finish per year. Many guys are ok with not being a big builder, that will help the nice guy builders grow his team, and company. The large corporate builders will now focus more on designing cities and large master planned areas. They would work on getting everything planned and all the infrastructure set for the builders. Architects can then design homes that people want to live in without having the need or want to remodel in the future. Those plans would then be handed over to the builders. The large corporate builders would have a team of retired engineers and builders, inspecting all work, getting all the builders the training they need, this will also help with the very big problem in the construction industry, which is, grown men fighting each other trying to cut the other guy down. This would really help crank out the luxury housing we so desperately need. Also the Hispanic work force is just as good as all the other guys. They, like the others just need to be shown exactly what is expected. If a guy cannot visualize what is exactly expected, then he is slowed, he's trying to figure out where to start when there's no clear view to the path ahead. Also they should offer an immigration program that allows guys to get Citizenship, or social security benefits, after they have worked or built so many homes. To jump start the process, large corporate builders should offer no interest, very flexible and no payment loans for a given period, say 10-15 years. This would help the retired folks design homes with architects, without havi g the need to worry about costs. If the corporation that owns the house is the lender, they can hold the loan, when the person passes or moves to assisted living, the home would revert to the corporation. The corporation can then offer a lifetime lease to the next person for whatever price or rent they desire. It would be a great idea to get large teams of guys from this country and others. Once the teams finish building here, they can focus on helping rebuild Mexico. Also we should focus more on building close to the equator, say, if an ice age was to start.
You should pitch this idea to the large corporate builders. Maybe they will make you the head of their company, you seem like a nice guy, you should be at the top.
Good luck trying to convince people to raise their family in a highrise building. Young people with no children and older people who children have moved out would like high-rise properties but it is not appealing to those that raise a family.
Suburb homes allowed families to have options in the 1950s but it was not the reason for the current state of ugly properties.
Everything from public buildings, corporate and educational looks horrible today. The home is no different because they all tend to be designed by the same groups of people. And the planning authorities also have a hand in it.
Except that living in a high rise in a big city with a family totally sucks. Most families like living in their own home and not hearing every argument their neighbors have, smelling their cooking, or dealing crappy building maintenance.
We would rather live in a mud hut on land we own than some high-rise monument to human misery.
Track homes serve a purpose for people buying their first homes. Thats where it should have stopped. The problem is that track builders made so much money selling volume that they took over the entire market except the very tip top of the market.
An important ingredient in mid century modern is building standards. Plumbing and electrical standards followed by building structure. Before standards every home was craftsman built. As standardized products became available, builders could buy components that fit together.
Thanks.
Property taxes in NY were an issue as all the schools, etc. had to be paid for and the development was the tax base, the upstairs was difficult to install a bathroom without original build, you are in the attic with angled ceilings and walls for one large bedroom or two smaller rooms.
above is the ny Leviitown.
Interesting. Thanks for your insight.
How are Levitt style suburbs different than Frederick Law Olmsteads' Riverside suburb from the 1800's? Does a suburb necessarily mean bad news for craftmanship?
I don't think you're comparing suburbs but building quality in those time periods. It isn't the suburbs that challenges craftsmanship, if I implied that I didn't mean to. Thanks.
@@BrentHull I suppose I'm wondering if the whole idea of planning an entire neighborhood for a bunch of speculative clients rather than building individual houses on individual lots for specific clients didn't contribute to the decline in build quality. Maybe opening the pandora's box of speculative suburbs was the death knell for artistry.
I've been really enjoying all of your videos and have been asking myself these questions about the decline in quality and craftsmanship for years.
Sears and Eaton's sent out prefab house via rail in the 1800's.
Thx.
Check out the Book Levittown The First Fifty Years, loads of info and pictures.
Thanks so much.
Interesting what some want. Some want beauty, some want affordability. Some view those two as opposing, and some view those to be wrestled with.
The mid-century long flamboyant overhangs and excessive glass are seemingly opposite of cost-saving.
Actually both are cheaper. Glass is much less expensive then a wood wall with cladding on both sides. Open beamed over hangs have no boxed eave or other trim details that cost money. Thanks for watching.
Brent I am a Home Inspector here in New England CT. I see the full range of residential construction and have compiled data for a "book" I plan on writing. I was wondering if you are interested in some sort of collaboration at a minimal level, nothing too time consuming maybe sharing information, observations or theory's.
Sounds great. send info to info@brenthull.com. Thanks
Thank you Brent for a great lecture🙏 I wonder how you manage to build and learn/know so much 🤔 is there anywhere info about what the 26 steps construction process were? Thanks a lot...note: as russian-canadian I am can assure that the only thing that made US economic superpower was suburban sprawl, by limiting it US will ruin its economy (as China does)
Ok. Thanks!
I like how he hopped over the racist part. Tell the entire story.
Ok
I enjoy redesigning these homes. Such a horrible time in architecture.
haha, true.
Ugly houses don't look too bad, now that shoeboxes are a million dollars.
Haha, true.
There is a modern building style - it’s called HGTV
Haha. word.
You have spurred me to read SUBURBAN NATION. As you say, the ripple effects of the 50's are still strong today. Cars, suburbia,congestion,sprawl, have permeated life. I bet if I had been one of those people in Levittown, I would have been as happy as everyone else. I am older, so I will check out before climate change hits really hard. Not to be a downer, but I feel sorry for future people. Science may ?? come up with solutions, or will we have to revive things from 100 years ago, like James Kunstler says? Eventually, the limits of the current system will stick out like a sore thumb? or will people simply accept those limits? Hey, plant the right tree in the right place everybody, and promote beautiful design!
Good questions. I guess we will have to wait and see.
EICHLER stole every good idea he ever had from Cliff May. Who invented the sliding glass door and the horizontal privacy window before WWII? Cliff May. Who designed houses with reasonable circulation space in the kitchen? Cliff May NOT Eichler! Who decided that closets were impediments to minimalism and therefore avoided them like the plague? Eichler, that's who. Every housewife I know wants closets! Who neglected circulation space in bathrooms and kitchens? Eichler. Eichler's designs looked great - just like Frank Lloyd Wright, they were uncomfortable. Cliff May designed comfortable livable homes. Eichler did not. His homes could not be adapted for places like Boston and Chicago, and are limited to milder climates. Eichler homes are invariably "updated" by adding bathrooms and closets, two trivial features that Eichler eschewed. Cliff May houses were comfortable, livable designs. Who introduced modern production principals to suburban builders (scissor trusses, lally columns, adaptable foundation plans for slab, crawlspace or basement, easily mirrored and re-oriented houses to account for lot differences, etc.) CLIFF MAY NOT EICHLER! Eichler did very small developments in ideal settings with a select number of builders. All 11,000 of his designs dot So Cal and the mildest climates in the States and disappear in the rest of the country. In 1954, 50% as in HALF - of all building permits issued in the United States were issued for Cliff May floorpans. For reference, over 234,000 new house starts were recoded in 1954. That's over 117,000 Cliff May houses in a single year, as compared to the few thousand Eichler managed over the entirety of his career. Having Cliff May's stamp on a plan was a guarantee of plan approval (as my parents discovered when they built their home). Eichler was the darling of the AIA, May was snubbed then and now. Get your snobby nose out of the air and take a look at who ACTUALLY built the suburban landscape of America!
Thanks so much for letting me know. I'll check him out.
@@BrentHull Now I feel bad about getting upset with you. The real problem is that Eichler was a developer - not an architect - and it showed. Try: Western Ranch Houses by Cliff May Paperback - January 1, 1997 by Cliff May (Author), Paul C. Johnson (Author). It's available in paperback and was the birth of the California Ranch (marketed in Sunset magazine as an opportunity to live the 'California dream'). Less experimental and considerably more practical than Eichler houses - they're worth a look. Thanks for great content! Linda
Hey Brent, are both of your parents of German ethnicity? You look very German, haha.
HaHa, Canadian actually with Irish and Scottish back grounds. FYI
Look at Japan where homes are not made to last
ok.