Laurel outlook., 1945-08-01
Seek Liability
In Future House
Architects Aim to Bring the
Outdoors Closer to the
Indoors for Health.

OAA4SLl1O. AICllllCClo dlC IN
worrying overmuch about VIVA
your postwar house will look like
Their aim is a house that Evil
work." and will have durability"
An overwhelming majority of 81
designs submitted in a nationwide
architectural competition, according
to the Chicago Tribune, emphasized
these points:
Simply a good house for better iv
ing, practical rather than stylish
useful and comfortable rather thar
impressive.
From that standpoint of health
the trend in design is toward
bringing the outdoors closer in
doors and taking the indoors more
outdoors"
The architects had in mind q
"home for cheerful living" within
the economic reach of the average
young American family, particu-
larly the returning serviceman.
Gabled roofs are out. That re-
duces roof maintenance costs. Laun-
dry and heating units are on the
ground floor. There'n be no Juggling
up and down cellar steps.
There are no sentimental trap
pings, no lavish display in front. In
fact the house, fguratively, turns its
back on the street. There are no
side windows facing the neighbors.
But there is privacy.
Cut Stylist Ornaments.
The first prize house of the con-
test was planned for California by
a young couple, Jean Bodman
Fletcher and Norman Fletcher, OF
Birmingham, Mich. Fletcher, who
is 81, was graduated from Yale five
years ago. His home town is Will
mantle, Conn. His wife, from
Wayne, Pa, is a graduate OF Har-
ward.
1--WE subscribe fully to the tend
ency in modern architecture of eli
minating stylist ornaments In favor
of practicality," say the Fletchers.
"The public too long has been &C
customed to judging a house by
what it looks like Cape Cod
ranch house, or English Modern
schools are teaching the proper way
to plan and to judge a house is by
the way it works, what it does for
the occupant and the family"
For a glimpse of the postwar
home, the Fletcher design which
brought them a prize Of $1,000,
offers a good perspective:
The house and "carport" (garage)
are placed forward on the lot, leav-
ing as much of the land as possible
for gardening and outdoor living.
The "H" design permits three sep
arate outdoor spaces - a garden
for adult use and entertaining, a
children's play and laundry yard,
and a rear space for garden, bar
becue fireplace, or putting green.
Room for Work and Play.
The cross bar of the "H" is a
compact, air conditioned utilities
unit, composed of a kitchen, heater
both, and a separate lava
tory. Conceivably, the architects
say, it could be factory produced,
cutting installation cost to a mini
num-.
The wing on the street side is a
combined living and dining room
and a multipurpose room for work
and play. The rear wing, with three
bedrooms and a s~tudy-gueSt room, is
the "quiet area" away from every
day family life.
This one-floor scheme has two
southern exposures. Full length-and-
width windows are structurally ar
ranged to admit maximum u in
minimum in summer.
The architects point out that, with
expert assistance, the returning sol
lier or any other young Ameri-
IAN could construct most OF the
after buying the utilities
init. The plans are drawn for the
house to grow as the budget or
'amily, or both, expand. 1t was de-
signed for a couple with two chill
Assuming the family would &C
Iuire a quarter-acre plot, the archi-
ects confined the house to 1,400
quare feet of floor space. The gen
raj price range, exclusive of land,
vas estimated at $4,000 to $4,000.