The snowball effect (and tradition in the mid-century)

It all began with a reader's inquiry about a 2 storey plan in Whitehaven and then it snowballed...

My research brought light to a handful of streets in the south-central section of Whitehaven which is characterised by traditional-style houses that are mostly centre-hall plans. It appears that many are custom designed, while others were built by Simpson, Sherbrooke and maybe even Garand. While I did not have the exact plans in my Whitehaven file (all of my plans are filed by neighbourhood) I was able to find the plans that were built in other areas of the city (such as Country Place). My initial search snowballed into a larger collection of plans.

I will begin this post with the original collection of plans that I had in my file for Whitehaven. While some of the houses in the north section of the area are custom designed, the builder had stock plans that could be built. Their designs offer a mix of traditional and modern architecture.

Notice the 6 bedrooms!

A modern Kenden design beside a traditionally-inspired house (although it is a pared-down modern take on tradition).

There are many similar-style houses in the area which are a hybrid of modern and tradition, mixing a porch and shutters with picture windows.

The large picture windows add a modern edge to this house.

A modern hybrid beside a traditional house with a grand portico.

While they are both centre-hall designs, the house on the left is a modern take on the classic.

A traditionally-inspired house. Below are a few more images of the traditional houses in the area:

Notice the modern bungalow next door.

A trio of traditional houses - Spanish, French, and a house with dormers.

As much as I love mid-century modern design, I must admit that this is gorgeous house!

The newest cluster of houses (late 1970s to early 1980s). Notice the flat roof on the garage of the house on the left, which is quite unusual, yet suits the style of the house.

Even in a sea of traditional-style houses, a few modern houses pop up.

Another modern beauty.

The highlighted phase of Whitehaven is characterised by traditional-style houses, most of which have a centre hall plan, some of which have been pictured above. While some of the plans below are found in Whitehaven, they were also built in other areas around the city such as Country Place, Guildwood Estates, Playfair Park, Beacon Hill North, Rothwell Heights. 

The plans below are by Simpson:

One of the few plans without a centre-hall plan.

The following are images from the Simpson brochure showing the completed houses.

The next 3 plans were to be built on Winslow Court by Winslow Square Developments. It appears that the middle plan was not actually built.

The south-east section of Whitehaven has a group of houses that look like they were built by Minto based on the same plans as in Hawthorne Meadows (see my post on that area). Here is the division point between the traditional centre-hall houses and the houses possibly built by Minto.

The eastern edge of Whitehaven is filled with houses that were not built en-masse by one builder and have a variety of different styles and plans. Many of the smaller houses have been demolished to make way for larger houses - like this modern example. Notice the mid-century bungalow next door. I do appreciate the designs of many of the new houses, but am sad to see the mid-century bungalows face the wrecking ball.