RETHINKING THE AMERICAN HOUSE
THE STUDY
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THE STUDY JACK LITTRELL Undergraduate Thesis: Fall 2019 - Spring 2020 College of Architecture & Urban Studies Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
RETHINKING THE AMERICAN HOUSE
RETHINKING THE AMERICAN HOUSE
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
To My Family, George, Julie, and Caroline Littrell Thank you for your unconditional love and support.
To My Advisors, Jim Bassett, Ellen Braaten, and Hilary Bryon
Thank you for inspiring me, encouraging me, and sharing your passion for design.
To My Friends
Thank you for filling the last five years with adventures and great memories.
RETHINKING THE AMERICAN HOUSE
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
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CONTENTS
CONTENTS Abstract
08 - 09
Studying The House
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Studying The User
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Studying Games
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Bibliography
44 - 45
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ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT Architecture exists as a vessel for human activity, designed and built to serve the needs of its users. In The United States, it is rare to find a house that was designed with its occupants’ needs as its primary concern. Most American housing is designed and built to generate revenue for its builder, resulting in an abundance of careless architecture. This thesis rethinks what it is to create good housing, making the needs of the user the utmost concern in its design.
RETHINKING THE AMERICAN HOUSE
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STUDYING THE HOUSE
A street in Levittown, New York in 1954. (Source: Bettmann Archive / Getty Images)
In the United States, it is rare to find a house designed with its occupants’ needs as its primary concern. The vast majority of singlefamily houses in the United States are built by real estate developers, focused on maximizing profit rather than constructing good houses. This has generated an abundance of careless architecture: housing which does not address its specific site or the unique needs of its occupants.
RETHINKING THE AMERICAN HOUSE
STUDYING THE HOUSE
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STUDYING THE HOUSE
WORKING WITH HOME-BUILDERS During summer breaks from school, I had the opportunity to intern with two residential real estate developers. The first internship offered on-site experience constructing tract-houses, while the second internship gave insight into the process of designing tract-houses. Both developers made money by purchasing large tracts of land, subdividing the land into individual lots and developing “optioned� tract-houses for customers who paid a substantial premium for their house to be built. These houses were designed as products, items which could be marketed and sold
to a pre-determined market sector. Each house was designed with options, intended to be functional at their base level, bust vastly superior when upgraded with option packages which would drastically increase the cost of the house. This methodology maximizes the profit for the home-builder, as they construct tens of thousands of houses each year. All of these houses are designed only to meet the fundamental needs of the buyer at the moment they are purchased and built to maximize profit for the builder. These designs never attempted to be good works of architecture.
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Columbia, Ryan Homes. (Photograph Source: Ryan Homes) (Drawing Source: Ryan Homes)
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STUDYING THE HOUSE
UNDERSTANDING LEVITTOWN After working for two contemporary tract-house builders, I decided to study Levittown, the first example in the United States of this style of development. Levitt & Sons were the first real estate developers in the United States to apply the principles of mass manufacturing to the construction of houses. During World War II, the Levitt & Sons real estate development company transitioned from a high end, custom homebuilder to the mass producer of housing for which they are known today. As soldiers returned home from World War II and began families, they struggled to find available housing they could afford. The Levitt family
saw this shortage as business opportunity, and began applying mass manufacturing techniques to their home-building knowledge. The Levitts acquired 4,000 acres of potato fields on Long Island and used the land to develop over 17,000 houses. All of the houses were built identically, and allowed the builders to specialize in individual aspects of the home-building process. This specialization made the construction process more efficient and more profitable. The Levitt technique proved successful, and the principles behind this business model are still used today to fill suburbs with carelessly designed houses.
A street in Levittown, New York in 1954. (Source: Bettmann Archive / Getty Images)
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STUDYING THE HOUSE
THE CASE STUDY HOUSE PROGRAM As the Levitts were mass manufacturing their houses in New York, the Los Angeles based magazine Arts & Architecture began developing their own response to the housing shortage. In 1945, John Etenza, the editor of Arts & Architecture announced the Case Study House Program. This program commissioned major architects of the day, including Richard Neutra, Charles and Ray Eames, Eero Saarinen, and Pierre Koenig to design and build inexpensive model houses in response
to the need for housing. The program challenged architects to develop affordable houses, create good living conditions and respond to contemporary architectural issues. The houses were each developed to suit the specific needs of individual clients and incorporated new materials never before seen in the residential construction industry. This program provided practical and beautiful solutions in response to the housing crisis that was developing in the United States.
J. R Davidson, Case Study House #01, Unbuilt. (Source: Arts & Architecture)
J. R Davidson, Case Study House #11, Los Angeles, California. (Source: Arts & Architecture) RETHINKING THE AMERICAN HOUSE 17
Craig Ellwood, Case Study House for 1953, Beverly Hills, California. (Source: Arts & Architecture)
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STUDYING THE HOUSE
THE NEW CASE STUDY HOUSE PROGRAM The ideas behind the original Case Study House Program and the resulting body of work offer a solution for affordable housing that I find far more compelling than the solution offered by the Levitts. This inspired me to begin The New Case Study House Program, an alternative solution to house the masses. The New Case Study House Program begins in the same fashion as the original, with its formal announcement. The new announcement was
derived from the original, maintaining the concerns of the original program still relevant today, and replacing out-dated concerns with those relevant to the practice of architecture today. The new announcement begins to offer a set of values which can be used to judge the merit of a potential housing solution. Using these values, I have developed the first potential housing solution in the program, New Case Study House #01, with the hope that additional solutions will follow.
the new case study house program
ANNOUNCEMENT Looking over the landscape of housing being built today in the United States, I find it apparent that the endeavor of building houses is most often not in the hands of architects. I see far too much American housing constructed by developers, who are far more concerned with profit than intelligently constructing good houses. Given these circumstances, It seems imperative to get back down to cases and re-imagine what makes a good house.
These houses must be designed so that a reader could purchase a reasonable plot of land, and construct one for their own use. All houses constructed throughout this program will undergo post-occupancy evaluations, documenting the houses’ occupant satisfaction, constructability, and building performance to evaluate the impacts of the decisions made by the architects. These facts and figures related to the analysis of the houses will be published for the benefit of the public.
I recognize that the matter of building houses is surrounded by many complicated and difficult conditions, but I hope that by beginning a body of work in response to these conditions, some practical solutions will emerge. It is with this goal in mind that I propose: The New Case Study House Program.
RETHINKING THE AMERICAN HOUSE
It is critically important that these houses are conceived with the intention that they will serve their occupants for more than one generation; houses developed in this program must be designed in such a way that their occupants can enjoy their house throughout their lifetime. One of the largest issues I see in houses being built today is their disposable This program will offer an opportunity to engage nature. As focus is directed to designing longlasting houses, it is critical that these structures with important issues that practicing architects are are considerate of their environmental impacts. currently facing. Architects participating in this program Contributing architects must focus on reducing will develop new ideas in areas such as sustainable wasted space, wasted materials, and wasted energy design, aging in place, construction materials and in the construction and operation of their house. methods, etc. I will begin the program by designing the first house, with the hope that other architects will contribute their own designs; forming a collective body I hope that by designing these case studies, of work to further explore new ideas about housing. we are able to produce housing solutions so compelling that those building the thoughtless housing that we Each architect participating in this program see today are forced to reconsider their methods. It is will evaluate a traditional housing program, and be apparent that the only way to prove the effectiveness of responsible for devising a contemporary solution. Each our ideas will be to design, build and construct houses architect will be responsible for finding or creating a on a “put-up-or-shut-up” basis. Of course, I have my own client, developing an understanding of their needs, opinions about what the best solutions might be, but and ensuring their design will create good living they remain to be proven or disproven by engaging in conditions. As they work towards their housing solutions, this program. It seems likely that Americans will cling each architect must present ideas that can be of tenaciously to familiar ideas about residential design practical assistance to other architects, and average and construction, but it is important that we relentlessly Americans in the pursuit of an affordable house. explore new ideas, in the hopes of creating better living spaces. This endeavour aims to re-think what it is to The houses will be published alongside the create good housing. The best result of all of this then, comments of their architect with the reasoning for their would be the formation of a compelling, new perspective solutions. This will offer readers insight into the issues of what residential architecture can be, leading to faced throughout the design process, and demonstrate improvements in the lives of average Americans. the architects’ creative responses to the problems they studied. These publications will offer inspiration to readers for use in their own housing endeavors
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STUDYING THE USER
Architecture exists as a vessel for human activity; built in service for those who use it. This relationship between user and space must be cultivated to create exceptional architecture. This thesis explores how a single-family house can better respond to the ever-changing needs of its users. This design and organization focused on the needs of the user and drove the project towards its final solution.
RETHINKING THE AMERICAN HOUSE
STUDYING THE USER
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STUDYING THE USER
A HOUSE WITH FOUR ROOMS This study questions the validity of several principles which guide the design of contemporary tract housing. The house blends public and private functions together; organizing the rooms based on use, rather than separating public and private spaces. The hallway of the house surrounds the four rooms, dominating each of the four elevations rather than centrally connecting the rooms of the house. This
creates a private exterior space, four equal entrances, and four equal elevations. Each room of the house is formed to mimic an icon related to its use, in contrast to the form taken by typical tract houses, which most often mimic American colonial houses. This study began to explore how the design of a house could better respond to the needs of a user.
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STUDYING THE USER
THE CLEANING ROOM This room provides a space for the users of the house to clean. It provides a sink, a washer and dryer, a shower, and a toilet so the users can clean everything in the house. The cleaning room mimics the form of a rooftop water tower, iconographically relating the volume to a place water is stored for domestic use.
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STUDYING THE USER
THE RESTING ROOM This room provides a space for the users of the house to rest. It provides a living room set and a bed. The resting room mimics the form of a traditional suburban house, iconographically relating the volume to the place that a user goes to find refuge from the outside world.
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STUDYING THE USER
THE CONSUMING ROOM This room provides a space for the users of the house to consume goods. It provides the dining table, the kitchen and the closets for the users to store and use their consumables. The consuming room mimics the form of a traditional big-box store, iconographically relating the volume to the places the goods of the house were purchased for consumption.
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STUDYING THE USER
THE MAKING ROOM This room provides a space for the users of the house to make things. It provides two desks and a workbench for the users to work. The making room mimics the form of a traditional domestic shed, iconographically relating the volume to a place traditionally used to engage in creative or professional pursuits.
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STUDYING GAMES
This thesis rethinks how we can create good housing by incorporating principles of gaming, rules, and game design. Studying these elements has offered me a better understanding of how to develop sets of rules which empower a user to make meaningful decisions. By giving users the opportunity to make meaningful decisions about the spaces they occupy, the user can manipulate the space to better meet their needs.
RETHINKING THE AMERICAN HOUSE
STUDYING GAMES
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STUDYING GAMES
DESIGNING A CHESS SET I began my thesis by designing my own chess set, inspired by a set designed by Josef Albers. The form of each chess piece was generated by applying a set of geometric rules to the basic rules of chess. In the game of chess each piece has its own rules governing how it can move and capture other pieces in any given turn. In this chess set, the top of each piece is designed to show how the piece moves. Pieces which can move an unlimited distance in a given direction have a notch cut all the way through the top
of the piece in the given direction. Pieces which can only move a finite amount in a given direction have similar notches which do not go all the way through the top of the piece. As the game is played, each piece is assigned a value based on the influence each piece has in the game. In this chess set, the heights of the pieces are derived from those assigned values. The form of the shaft of each piece was developed in response to the process of manufacturing the set.
Cannot Be Taken Value: 9 Value: 5 Value: 3 Value: 1
Baseline
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STUDYING GAMES
MAKING THE CHESS SET The process of making the chess set helped to inform many design decisions leading to the final form of the set. I wanted to make multiple, identical chess sets quickly, which led me to develop a reusable set of moulds. With these moulds, I cast the final pieces in concrete and plaster. This decision required the design of the pieces to taper from bottom to top, guiding the overall form of each piece. To make
the moulds, I 3-D printed positive versions of each piece, and cast a set of silicone moulds around the printed pieces. This manufacturing process offered me the opportunity to create a complex form. The form transitions between the square base and the circular top, providing orientation to the board, and mimicking the more traditional shape of chess pieces.
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STUDYING GAMES
UNDERSTANDING THE RULES After using the basic rules of chess to inform the design of the chess set, I began to draw and diagram games of chess to better understand how the rules of chess interact. The first set of studies analyzed how the decisions made by both players during the game led to one player winning. The study led to the realization that the ending of each game was
only possible through interaction between the rules of multiple pieces. This realization inspired a study of the interactions of rules in a single turn of a game. The diagrams I produced help to illustrate the complex situations which arise at every turn, and inform decision making during every turn of the game.
Final moves leading to checkmate. Study #1.
Final moves leading to checkmate. Study #2.
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Potential legal moves and interactions between pieces during one turn.
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STUDYING GAMES
UNDERSTANDING FINITE AND INFINITE GAMES The studies of the rules of chess expanded into a broader study of game design. I specifically became interested in learning about how rules are developed to direct gameplay and decision making. This led to the discovery of finite and infinite games. Games can be categorized into either finite games, in which players
pursue victory, and infinite games, in which players pursue continuation of the game. The idea of a game adapting to changing conditions and continuing play paralleled the architectural goal of creating space capable of adapting to the needs of a user.
RETHINKING THE AMERICAN HOUSE
The Infinite Game: How to Live Well Together. (Source: Niki Harré)
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STUDYING GAMES
GAME ELEMENTS IN ARCHITECTURE As I continued to study the influence of rules on gameplay, I searched for architectural precedents which incorporated these same game elements into their design. I found inspiration in the works of Herman Hertzberger and Alejandro Aravena; specifically in their affordable housing projects. Both architects have developed housing which provides
a framework, capable of change, and governed by a set of rules which help the user to make informed decisions about their house. In both projects, the rules guide the occupants of the houses to make meaningful architectural decisions, adapting their house to meet their changing circumstances.
Herman Hertzberger, Diagoon Housing, Delft, Netherlands. (Drawings Source: AHH) (Photograph Source: Beton Verlag)
RETHINKING THE AMERICAN HOUSE
ELEMENTAL, Quinta Monroy Housing, Iquique, Chile. (Drawing Source: ELEMENTAL S.A.) (Photograph Source: Cristobal Palma)
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
BIBLIOGRAPHY Rosenberg, Matt. “A History of the Levittown Housing Developments.” ThoughtCo, Feb. 11, 2020, thoughtco.com/levittownlong-island-1435787. “Columbia.” Columbia | New Construction | Ryan Homes, www. ryanhomes.com/new-homes/our-homes/single-family/columbia/ CLM00.
“Case Study House No. 01.” Arts and Architecture, Feb. 1945.
“Case Study House No. 11.” Arts and Architecture, Jul. 1946.
“The New Case Study House.” Arts and Architecture, Jun. 1953. Harré Niki. The Infinite Game: How to Live Well Together. Auckland University Press, 2018. “Diagoon Experimental Housing, Delft.” AHH, www.ahh.nl/ index.php/en/projects2/14-woningbouw/79-diagoon-experimentalhousing. RETHINKING THE AMERICAN HOUSE
“Quinta Monroy / ELEMENTAL” 31 Dec 2008. ArchDaily. Accessed 25 May 2020. <https://www.archdaily.com/10775/quintamonroy-elemental/> ISSN 0719-8884
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