Passages from the Manifesto: Unbuttoning the Suburban House

This is the first in a series of posts from the manifesto I am working on for housing in the National Capital Region. Suggested accompanying music while reading: Intro by The XX.

The term unbuttoning has more than one meaning. There is the literal one, like unbuttoning clothing. But, there is also the related idea of releasing constraints and restrictions from something. Similar to unbuttoning your top pant button after eating too much, the idea of unbuttoning the suburban house releases constraints allowing for a more relaxed and natural house design.

In many parts of North America, the dream of a suburban living is one that is centred on a fully detached house. This idea has impacted the design of houses for decades, and in recent times has seen large detached houses on very narrow plots of land. The resultant designs are typically long and narrow to fit within the constraints of the lot width. For example, a detached house on a 30-foot wide lot is subject to side yard setbacks (unusable side yards) so the house can only be typically 20- to 22-feet wide. Much can be done with a long and narrow house design, but there are other options, if you “unbutton” this norm.

Detached houses on left side have narrow frontage and side yards that are underused. Attached houses on right are wider, have more windows front and back and no wasted side yard.

An attached house on a 30-foot wide lot can afford the luxury of the entire width with a house 30-feet wide. An extra 8- to 10-feet of width can make a difference in how spacious a house feels and even furniture placement in wider rooms. It also allows for more front-facing windows, and more “eyes on the street”. Additionally, a wider house has more natural light from windows on the facades that are not facing an adjacent house. This concept can be hard to accept in areas where detached houses are the preferred typology, especially with larger dwellings.

Below are some inspirational examples from the past, both in Ottawa and in other cities:

Springfield Mews in Ottawa, built by Hab-Com, Ian Johns architect, c. 1982. There is no unusable side yard with this townhouse design. The rear courtyard is nice and private.

Assaly Villas in Ottawa, built by Assaly, c. 1969. These townhouses are wider than most, allowing for a 2-car garage as well as a wider bungalow design with a front courtyard.

Jackson Court townhouse in Ottawa, built by Campeau, c.1972-73. These attached houses are very wide and are arranged to provide private rear courtyards. Also of note is the fact that they are only attached by the garage.

Jackson Court from above, showing the courtyards created by the designs. Courtesy of Google Maps.

An interesting example where attached suburban housing on wide lot widths is common is in Houston Texas. Here attached houses are designed with remarkable variety, often each house in a row being a completely different custom design, sometimes by a variety of different architects or designers. The result is a decidedly varied streetscape and plans that can meet a variety of needs for different owners. Many of these designs also incorporate interior courtyards, something possible with a wider attached house.

Bolton House, Houston Texas, P.M. Bolton Associates architect, c. 1963. Notice on the site plan house each house has a completely different design with one of more interior courtyards.

American Iron and Steel Institute Demonstration Houses, Houston Texas, Wilson, Morris, Crain & Anderson architects, c. 1969. These 3 houses are quite wide, but are attached.

In Southern California wide townhouses have been used with cluster planning, proving that high priced attached houses in prime suburban locations can work. By clustering the houses together more space in the neighbourhood can be set aside for common open space.

The Bluffs in Corona Del Mar California, built by Holstein, Richard Leitch architect, c. 1965. Designed for uphill lots, the garages are tucked underneath the houses.

Jasmine Creek in Corona Del Mar California, built by M.J. Brock, Walter Richardson Associates architect, c. 1974.

A re-think is due...it is time to consider unbuttoning the suburban house.

Comments

Campeau in Alta Vista

One of the biggest builders in Ottawa during the 1950s and 1960s was Campeau Construction, a name still known today, even though the builder is no longer active. Many of the houses in Alta Vista were custom built, but Campeau was one of the first builders to construct tract homes in the area. Approximate locations of areas where Campeau built Beginning in the 1950s Campeau began building houses southwest of Kilborn Avenue and Alta Vista Drive, north of Randall Avenue. At the time, bungalows and one-and-a-half storey houses were most popular. Many of the “Victory Houses” built by Wartime Housing Ltd. for returning veterans after WWII were one-and-a-half stories, and the style soon became very popular for all builders. Below are some of Campeau's one-and-a-half storey plans built in the area: With time, the one-and-a-half storey house became less popular, and bungalows and split-level houses became the norm. An easy way to determine the age...

The small Post-War 1 1/2-Storey House - Part One

The small Post-War 1 1/2-Storey House The 1 1/2-storey house is common in certain areas of Ottawa built during WWII and the era immediately afterwards. These houses can be found throughout the city, but larger concentrations include the following areas: Carlington, Courtland Park, Carleton Heights, Meadowlands/St. Claire Gardens, Alta Vista, Overbrook, Eastview, Vanier, Elmvale Acres and Queensway Terrace. The 1 1/2-storey house actually has older roots in European architecture and early North American housing. The style was re-born by Wartime Housing Limited during WWII to fill a need during a housing shortage and were meant to be temporary. The design is economical to build, versus a full 2-storey house, and in some cases the second floor can be left unfinished for future expansion. Here is a link to a NFB short film on the wartime houses: Wartime Housing Below are the 3 basic plans Wartime Housing Limited built in communities across Canada -...

Modern Mansard - The Neo-Mansard Roof

Throughout the mid-century, the Mansard roof was popular in Ottawa housing design. First popularised in France during the 17th century, and then revived in the 19th century, the roof style re-appeared in Ottawa during the 1960s. At first the roof was used on historically-inspired houses, but was eventually altered in a variety of ways to have a more modern take on tradition. Campeau was the builder who used the roof the most in the mid-century, but other builders also followed suit. A traditional use of the Mansard roof. Playfair Park North/South, Russell Heights, c. 1965. This plan had a traditional Mansard option as well as 2 Dutch Colonial options with a Gambrel roof. Beacon Hill and South Keys, c. 1967. Here is a great example of a modern take on the Mansard roof. Instead of protruding dormer windows with arched tops, these houses have an inset window and an asymmetrical facade. From the side, the roof actually has more of a Gambrel-style silh...

Costain in Ottawa - Part One: Blackburn Hamlet (Detached Homes)

Some of my long-time readers may remember that I did a series of posts on Costain a few years ago. For some reason, a few of my older posts have vanished from my blog - for reasons unknown to me. So, I have re-created this post on the builder Costain due to interest from some of my readers. On the positive side, I have been able to get my hot little paws on some new floor plans and marketing material, so there is more material in this post compared to the original (now lost) post! In the mid-1960s the builder Costain (originally from England, but with an impressive global portfolio) came to Ottawa to develop a new hamlet in the eastern greenbelt called Blackburn Hamlet. Today Blackburn Hamlet is very lush with mature trees and extensive parkland, surrounded by the NCC Greenbelt. The west side of Blackburn Hamlet has 3 neighbourhoods separated by parkland, Westpark, Southpark and Centrepark. The Northpark and Eastpark n...

Campeau in the late 1950s and early 1960s

Below is a collection of floor plans that Campeau built in the late 1950s and early 1960s. I quite like the first plan with its blank front facade to the right of the front door. It gives the house a modern take on the Cape Cod-inspired 1 1/2 story style. I do not believe that many of this design were built, though. I also quite like this design below, with its blank facade and large wall of windows in the Living Room. Too bad my only copy of the plan is cut off at the top.

CMHC house designs from the mid-century

Between 1947 and 1974 the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), formerly Central Mortgage and Housing Corporation, published regular floor plan books of small houses suitable to be built in Canada. Blueprints could be ordered for the architect-designed plans, and examples of the built houses can be found throughout Ottawa. There are so many interesting plans that were available through the CMHC, so this is only the first posting with some of my favourites. If you recognise any of these designs that have been built in Ottawa (or elsewhere in Canada), please feel free to share the location with me! I have always been a fan of the butterfly roof! Although there are no front facing windows on the above design, the cedar shake cladding makes for a very interesting facade. The architect was based out of Kanata, and I could easily see this house fitting into the natural landscape of Beaverbrook - although I don't think it was actually built there. The central atr...

Amberwood Village - Stittsville

Another blog post by request! Located south of Hazeldean Road east of Stittsville Main Street is a very special "adult-lifestyle" neighbourhood begun in the late 1970s. The original phases of Amberwood Village consist of a series of houses built in clusters along the edges of the Amberwood Golf Course. The development was originally built by a company called Jaric Developments Ltd. The architect of this original portion of the area was W.G.Mohaupt - who also designed the "courtyard singles" in Hunt Club (see my old post Favourite Plans South and scroll down to see these designs) - and also used to design houses for Minto. The clusters of attached houses are grouped on dead-end lanes and units are attached is a variety of arrangements. Some designs have an attached garage, while others have detached garages clustered together with others. The result is a very interesting streetscape with a lot of open spac...

The bungalow staircase

California spearheaded the popularity of the bungalow (or ranch home), in mid-century North America. In California, basements are rare. During WWII and immediately afterward, some Ottawa houses were built without basements to save costs. But, the appeal of having a basement as extra room for storage and expansion space, meant that the basementless house did not last long. Having a basement meant that California-inspired designs had to be adapted to allow room for a staircase down. The placement of the basement stairs in bungalow design is sometimes a challenge. With a two-story house, often the staircase is located in the front hall, but this is not the case with many bungalows. While a staircase up leads to finished rooms on the upper floor, the staircase down to the basement was historically linked to service spaces. Basements in older houses were more utilitarian, so there was no need to have the basement stairs on display like the stairs to the upper floors. A stair...

California Modern in Ottawa

During the mid-century era, California became the epicentre of modern design. From the architect-designed case-study houses, to the mundane tract house, all eyes were on California. In Canada, books and periodicals on architecture filled with Californian design would have sparked the imagination of Architects and designers. W hen one thinks of Mid-Century Modern (MCM) California tract housing, the name ‘Eichler’ often comes to mind. Perhaps one of the most famous MCM tract builders, Joseph Eichler, defined MCM design in the United States. His widely-published designs even captured the imagination of Canadians. Any designer/architect in the know would have seen an Eichler plan. In Ottawa, there are a few examples of houses built in the 1960s with floor plans that could have been influenced by those being built by Eichler. The most famous Eichler-built designs are those with an open-air atrium at the centre. One of the floor plans built by Teron in Beaverbrook during the...

Neighbourhood Spotlight - Beacon Hill North

The Beacon Hill North area, east of downtown, has some great examples of MCM houses. Map of Beacon Hill North The two main builders in Beacon Hill were Minto and Campeau. For the most part, the Minto-built homes are in the centre of the community (in an area that was also marketed as Beaconwood), and the Campeau-built homes act as book-ends on the western and eastern sides. Simpson Homes also built a handful of large houses in the northwest portion. In addition, there are a few pockets of houses built by other builders, including MacDonald Homes, as a part of the H.O.M.E. Plan (Home Ownership Made Easy) – particularly on the east side. The Campeau houses in the southwest portion of the area were marketed as being in Rothwell Village, due to their location bordering Rothwell Heights. The houses built in this area were Campeau’s larger two-storey and split-level models. One of the Campeau designs in Rothwell Village. The same design was also built in Arlington Woods. ...

Search This Blog