Evening Star Newspaper, June 26, 1926, Page 38

5 O MODEL HOMES SECTION. TOUR OF COMPARISON SHOWS FINE POINTS IN MODEL HOUSES Two Trips Are Outlined for Those Interested Either in Detached Homes or in Group Development | Projects. BY HORACE W. PEASLEE, A. I A, Chairman Architects” Committee on Model omes. Member The Stars Supervisory §ommises o1 mulee i Charet of e onstration. What constitutes a model home? Are these Star demonstration houses really model homes? What was to have been demonstrated and just what has been the actual accomplishment? }as the end justified the means? All these and many more questions of similar ch: er might well be ad- vanced by any one who has heen fol- Towing to a Ater or less extent the | different st of this demonstration. Some of those who mixht attempt to | answer these. questions without knowl. | edge of the preliminary might very possibly make ad comments; but to any one who is sidering the building of a home th 1 no question but that invaluable in- formation and guidance can be gained from these houses, if investigated with an understanding of the original objects in view. Distinction Is Drawn. Tllustration might be given of the distinction between a factory and a laboratory. From the factory, with- out fuss or furore, and in many cast with the aid of artisans only, may | come beautifull hed products: from the laborator 1 elahorate staff and much & nd reaction, may come an imperfect product: but it is from the laboratory that invention and progress result. It has been just this way with the model home demonstration. These are not nine building projects for each of which an architect was given free hand to go ahead and solve his prob- lem as seemed most advantageous to him, but each one of the projects fitted imto its own pecullar place in the scheme of the demonstration, and the erchitects were required to take cer- tain problems and solve them in cer- tain ways. Thus it happens that the demonstra- tlon has brought out working models of stone and brick and stucco and frame detached houses executed in styles which might be designated as Georglan. or as varfations of Colonial types. In the same way the group housing projects—the semi-detached, community and row h. ~have each been designated for solution in certain definite ways, two in picturesque Eng- lsh variations, one in Italian, one in Georgian. Advises Seeing All Types. For one who is seriously interested in getting real information out of the demonstration, by far the best way is to make a comparative examination— not of any one type hut of all the types —taking them in order as may be most conveniently followed. One afternoon over the continuous route described will allow 15 or 20 minutes for the examination of each house. Two aftornoons will permit a thorough in spection of all the projects, It now remains to point out just what one should learn by such a very general comparative inspection. Let us assume two trips, one to be taken by a family interested in the acquisi- tion of a detached house, the other by @ party interested in the purchase of & unit in the group development. Review of Detached Houses, Of the former type let us first ex- amine the demonstration house bulilt by Mrs. Ruby Lee Minar and Ward. Brown, architect, in Lee Heights. Va., reached in about 15 minutes via the first right-hand road after crossing the Key Bridge. Here we have an un. pretentious, inexpensive f house, placed on the lot in gain a broad southern exposure and the advantageous division of the prop- erty. The house has a great deal of that Indefinable quality known as “at- mosphere.” When its setting shall have been carried out and the plant material established it may well pass as a product of an older day. It is simple, straightforward, a very livable modern adaptation of a type peculiar | to Virginia. A peculiar phase of the development is the discussion precipitated by the Placing of the garage in a rather con- spicuous position along the street leading from the Lee Highway. From the point of view of the owner of the property, and from the usual ap- proach, it is exactly the right place for the garage, and adjoining it would be exactly the right place for a gn- rage on the next property, with the adjoining house arranged In similar fashion, so as to get the best light and ventilation. With suitable setting of £hrubs and trees, these buildings would tle into the landscape. Yet such situa- tlons present one of the greatest prob- lems that the architect has to deal with, overcoming adherence to cus- tom; and because custom has o strongly estublished that a garage should be in the back and a porch in front, such a placement as this is one of the most difficult Yo popularize, even though it means an arrangement of a house and lot actually to greater ad- vantage. To those interested in pur- suing this subject, reference is made to a group of models developed in a Garden Club of American competition which are now on_exhibition in the lobby of the New National Museum. Here the logical placing of the garage and of the outdoor living quarters is strikingly shown. Visit To Maryland House. ‘The next detached house in order of size lies in Maryla short way be- {nnd the District . 1t is reached y running out Sixteenth street to Alaska avenue, thence to Georgla ave- nue and by the continuing line of Brookeville Pike to Sllver Spring, turning right on the Colesville Pike, to the comparatively new development of the Stambough Construction Co. at Wynnewood Park. Here an effort has been made by the architect, Percy Adams, to obtain a frame structure of . type befitting the traditions of Maryland, yet with every recognition of modern requirements. It is inter- esting to note how such modern items as a breakfast nook, dressing room, double baths and sleeping porch are inconsplcuously absorbed in this old type. The house impresses one as both re- fined and comfortable. It is not large, but is not crowded. There is no pre-| tense, but there is attention to re; finement of detail. Two feature! - especially commend themselves: First, the distinct separation of the entrance and the living porch, the one giving limited but ample shelter for arriving guests in time of storm, yet affording absolutely no view of the intimate family life, provision being made for the family, out of doors, at the most desirable corner of the property, yet free from inspection by casual arri- vals. Second, the clever, economic way in which the garage is incorpo- rated under the porch. The intending house builder should fmmediately begin to make mental note of comparative sizes and arrange- ment as between the two houses just inspected, keeping in mind his deduc- tions for comparison with the three houses yet to be visited. He will also have in mind one element which he has doubtless previously overlooked in the first house visited, namely, the clever way In which size was added to a small house and the chunkiness thereof reduced by the way in which the living room relates to the other ‘wing of the house. Third House Is Visited. Returning now over the road just aveled, to Alaska avenue, We Row erse | conditions | ¢, passed on the way out, the third in point of size, designed by Victor Min- deleff for L. . Brueninger & Sons, a combination of brick and stucco in a Dutch colonlal type. In this house, as in the Maryland example, there is a definite separation of entrance and living sides, and an accentuation of the center hall, with a line of view which passes through the house to a sarden beyord, with a huge bowlder marking a turning of the property at an odd angle where the garden s be: ; developed. ’fl!}’:": (re:!rl‘mr‘nt of the interior is cer- 1inly not stereotyped, and indicates a freedom of handling not only in its neral arrangement but in the de- s of color, paneling and the like. pacious kitchen, with its ac- cessory features, such as the table recess, the pantry, the comparatively novel dishwasher and even the con- venient placing of the fuse box, at- tracts favorable comment. At the other end of the house we again find the ratlonal economic combination of the garage beneath the porch, con- cenlently reached in inclement ather from the inside of the house. On the second floor the rooms are ample and the closets are unusual in their size. The baths indicate current tendencies not only in the lavish use of color but in the substitution of a shower for the usual tub, an arrange- ment which would decidely simplify one element of house planning if it were more generally accepted. Celling Work Emphasized. Attention is especially called to the ceiling of the attic, with a cane-fiber product which is particularly valuable as an insulating medium against heat or cold and is incidentlly pleasing to the eye in color texture. Apropos of the earlier comment as to the hearty collaboration given by the different architects, the writer feels that special credit is due to Mr. Mindeleff for his cheerful acquies- cence in the requirements of the com- mittee which forced him to abandon, because of cost limitations, the type of house originally selected, of which the present house is but an abbrevia- tion. This prototype, with its two charm- ing wings leading toward the street and the entrance between, may be found on Tunlaw road between Mount Alto and Wesley Helghts. It may be passed on the next stage of the journey, the restination being Forty- fourth place and Hawthorne avenue, Wesley Heights. The objective may perhaps be reached more quickly by crossing Rock Creek Park just north of the Zoo, continuing up Klingle road un- derneath Connecticut avenue to Woodley road, thence to Wisconsin, Massachusetts and Cathedral avenues, west to Forty-fourth place, Haw- thorn street being one block to the south. We now reach a more pretentious type, a brick house of simple, digni- fied lines, designed by Delos H. Smith for W. C. & A. N. Miller, builders. Again we have the emphasis of pri- vacy expressed in the separation of the entrance from the living porch. Tmpression of Stairway. On entering, the first impression is of the interesting curving stairway, worked out with most careful atten tion to detail. The living room is ample and well lighted, the dining room opening to a south terrace and connected to a picturesque and rambling service arrangement under which again occurs the builtin ga- age, which by this time should have tablished itself in the minds of the visitors as one of the most desirable features of the demonstration. Another special note is struck in the maximum utilization of the attic space, a surprising demonstration of the amount of valuable and usable space which is ordinarily wasted. Here is a huge room, with picturesque ceiling lines, ideal for billlards or for dancing or for a dormitory. One will v w | compare this room with a similar space in the house previously visited. Returning now via Cathedral ave- nue to Massachusetts and continuing down toward Observatory Circle, we find at Thirty-fifth street the last and the largest of the detached houses, a stone structure designed by Robert Beresford for Hedges & Middleton. There can be no question but that the quality of stone in a house makes a most favorable first impression and a lasting one. It has an enduring char- acter and, handled with discrimina- tion, can reflect just as much of taste and refinement as the most delicate wood carving. Expression in Stone. There are, however, many types of stone work, good, bad and indifferent, and it is of Interest to study the pos- sibilities of expression in stone. In the one case we have more or less rambling pleces lald with a certain irregular regularity, whereas in an- other case there is the most pains- taking searching for the element of horizontality, which requires the use of long, thin pieces of stone and deeply raked joints. It is also interesting to note how stone from the same quarry appears radically different in differ- ent projects, due to the way in which its color is featured or concealed. Finally, one may study the treatment of the joint, its undue accentuation or its subordination to the effect of the wall as a whole. After having just completed the in- spection of four other houses in which the stairs were more or less of a conspicuous element, immedi- ately upon entering the house one is equally impressed in this instance by the conspicuous inconspicuousness of the stairs, just as a city dweller is overwhelmed by the stillness upon spending his first night in the coun- try. The stairs are present, graceful, but nevertheless subordinated, and they mark a tendency which may be studied later to good advantage in the group housing developments, namely, the realization that it is good plan- ning not to overemphasize that which is merely a connection to the private retreat of the family, and that where appropriations are limited it is much better to place the stair comfortably between walls rather than to take money for unnecessary space and overelaboration merely to make it a decorative feature, when both space and funds are more vitally needed for other parts of the plan. However, in this case it will be noted that the stair is a distinct element of beauty and is not unduly subordinated. Here again one finds the ideal de- velopment of the angle porch strategic- ally located for its connection to a garden. This house especially empha- sizes the lesson which it was hoped to convey with all these houses, name- ly, that there need be no such thing as a “back yard.” To be sure, the garden has not as yet been de- veloped, but all the provisions for it have been made, and there is no pos- sibility that service requirements can dominate the area, nor is it necessary to pass through the kitchen to get into the garden space. In comparing the homes of today with the homes of yesterday we cannot but be im- pressed by the fact that,in the olden time a home meant not only a house, but its garden and its setting, and that of later years more and more atten- tion has been focused upon the house and less upon its entourage, and just to that extent have we lost in the homelike atmosphere which pervade the old homss of America. THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON est is in a study of group ho\ll!h. rather than of detached dwellings, the first inspection should be made of the row houses designed by J. Wilmer Smith for C. H. Small & Co. These houses are reached by golng east on Florida avenue, passing Camp Meigs and Gallaudet College, to the* border- ing West Virginia avenue and then north on West Virginia to Queen street northeast, where the houses may be easily identified because of their striking and distinctive char- acter. The first impression created is that the usual row-house problem has been solved in a very satisfactory way. Every house has its porch, but the porches are so varied in detail and so supplemented with terraces, and withal disposed in such an orderly manner, that instead of counting as a multiplication of little units, each exactly like the other, the effect is of a fine large structure, as imposing in’ its mass as one big bullding, yet with all the charm and intimacy associ- ated with little houses. The porches are set close to the ground, which is another very desirable accomplish- ment, in that it gives the houses a comfortable feeling of easy connec: tion with the ground in place of the usual stilted effect. Viewed from the ends, there is no evidence of the usual fake mansard roof or the awk- ward stepped side walls or the un- sightly back porches. The latter are covered by the sub- stantially inclosed porches of the end houses, which really add an additional room to the regular house unit. In- side two distinct types of plans are found, one of which almost immedi- ately makes good its claims for prefer- ence, with its frank acceptance of limitations as indicated in the man- ner in which it deliberately chooses a large living room in place of a super- fluous stair hall. These °houses demonstrate the possibilities of the Georglan type as applied to the row- house problem. Comparison Is Made. The next step makes an interesting comparison of the Georgian with an earlier phase of English work. Re- turning to Florlda avenue, and con- «inuing up North Capitol street to the Soldiers’ Home, we skirt the west side of the Soldiers’ Iome property and proceed to Fifth and Decatur street: where we find another group of row houses, developed by Louis Justement for the Cafritz Construction Company. Here again s another advance step, this time even more radical than the AT} g D. €., SATURDAY, first in that the):e is applied to the row-house problem the same sort of treatment that {s normally applied to tne aetached house; in other words, frank acceptance of the problem that some houses may have porches but that all houses need not have them, and that to some people terraces with awnings may be equally acceptable, The result is a group much more varled In its appearance than the one first examined, made possible by the freedom of treatment, with variation in use of materials, which the style permits. We find the same treatment of the ends which conceal the back porches, which, however, we will con- sider further under the subject of the treatment of backs. An examination of the interiors of these houses shows two distinct types of plan very cleverly featured to ob- tain the maximym living room space even, with vestibule. A garment should be cut te fit the cloth, and with as little space as is available in a house of this type ¥ iIs a serfous question in weighing the pros and cons, as one is always forced to do, whether there {s justification for maintaining the fiction of a private right of way for the servant from the kitchen to the front door, if this right of way is maintained at the loss JUNE 26, of needed living room space. How- ever, both points of view and both requirements may be met in these houses. Another element which impresses it- self upon one is the maximum accen- tuation of length by featurin axial connection to the rear porch. The one point of improvement to which subsequent effort might well be directed would he the focusing of further attention upon the possibili- ties of these back porches, not treat- ing them simply as though they could not be seen, since from the block ends and from the opposite houses they are conspicuous and certainly not deco- rative, Attention may also be-focused upon the unusual arrangement of the block interior, with massed garages, permit- ting considerable extra usable space in opposite yards. Here also we find the subordination of stairway, to which reference has been previously made: The stairs are 1926. rample for their function, but there is no unnecessary outlay in an effort to feature them for their decorative value. From this row group it is but a short run up to Kifth and Longfellow via Illinois avenue and Longfellow street to a point from which may be seen the community group designed Motors 3::;’13:’;:9 . MODEL HOMES SECTION. in the Italian type by for W. J. Dunigan. Here we have the next step beyond the long row, and it Is equally dis. tinctive in its surroundings. Again it brings to speculative housing the charm that one finds in the detached suburban developments by the very frank expedient of designing accord- ing to similar conditions without the acceptance of a hard and fast average, ccording to which all housing must meet certain general conditions a meet them in exactly the same V. Here we have three houses in an in- teresting type of architecture, one house with a little arcaded porch and the flanking houses with front ter- races and open porches, the end houses, however, having the addi- tional advantage of large inclosed porches with light and air on two sides at the ends of the dining room. There i give-and-take in this propo- sition—the possible loss of a front porch of questionable value and the undoubted gain of individuality, dis- tinction, personality, atmosphere and other attributes which reflect in archi- tecture the effort of human beings to get out of the ruts of existence. Special attention may well be fo- cused upon the treatment of these rear porches in this example, as well ilbert Rodier as in the last exhibit of this serfes namely, the semi-detached houses de signed by W. H. Irving Fleming for Walter Vaughn at Michigan avenue and Thirteenth street northeast, which may be reached via Illinols avenue Webster street and Harewood road which runs between the Soldfers Home grounds and the Catholic Uni versity property to Michigan avenue In both of these projects there has been intensive study of the problem of the rear porch in an effort to make it attractive and livable. Casual inspection of most specula tive houses demonstrates that it js often customary to slap on any kind of a porch at the back of the house and then leave it for the purchaser to complete the job by putting screen< or storm sash as best he is able. The result is usually a botched job, and most rears of such houses are so un sightly that perforce they are unde sirable for use because of the ur sightly outlook in every direction Even in the best type of housing, cor petition has apparently forced thie same sort of so-called rear econom: to the detriment of really fine group: and it is submitted that this is one « the problems to which it would 1. most advantageous to give further : tention. If it isn’t a Frigidaire, it isn’t ~ a product of General M Frigidaire Product of General Motors—made and guaranteed by Delco - Light Company, Dayton, Ohio, the ELECTRIC Frigidaire is the electric refrigerator to buy, because you get a bigger value for every dollar spent. 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