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Plans © MCMarchitects 2010 AA Rights Reserved Ground Floor Plan Plans © MCMarchitects 2010 All Rights Reserved Upper Flo...
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I recently purchased a vintage House & Garden Magazine at an estate sale in south Kansas City. The issue was published in April of 1959, and focuses on leisure. The...
I found myself literally running down the streets to find more of these Eichler homes. After discovering these houses I drove back to my office in a daze, completely silent as I knew my life had changed.
Ground Floor Plan Common Hall Second Floor Plan Common Hall Site Plan Creating a small group of residences where neighbors can be supportive of each other is attractive to some people, especially if they are looking at downsizing from their large family homes where they raised their kids. This co-housing concept allows each person or couple to live in the privacy of a stand alone home, in this case the Minimum House Plan 2 seen here. Three residences share a common facility that provides some of the advantages they had in larger homes as well as adding new spaces for activities that might have not been possible before. The Common Hall has a large central room that opens onto a large covered terrace suitable for hosting large family dinners or celebrations. There is a kitchen and outdoor grill for communal meals among neighbors when wanted. There is a large laundry room to compensate for the compact laundries in the units. There is a guest bedroom for out of town visitors or family. Upstairs there is a media room where TV or movies can be watched as a group. The room, with it's wrap around couches, can also serve as extra overnight guest sleeping areas, especially for teens or college students. There are two shared areas for work, art or hobbies. Upstairs a shared studio-office room can be used by those that work from home. This provides the advantage of being able to get out of the house and also have meetings with clients that are not in your personal residence. The room has abundant light from high windows making it also attractive as an art studio. Downstairs there is a large high ceiling room that can be used for more active pursuits such as a shared wood working shop, or sculpture studio, or as an indoor space for working on cars or other things. To build this complex each household would be investing in 1,072 sf of construction, including their residence and share of common facilities. This is a way of downsizing with out giving up the large entertaining spaces or guest hosting capabilities, plus having the advantage of being able to live within a supportive group of friends or family making it easier to lead active lifestyles and the possibility to "age in place". There is a design concept for another co-housing scheme here.
This house is a 3,251 SF three bedroom home designed around a series of open and flexible wings. The house is divided in half with one private side for family and one side for family and friends. The different wings can be closed off from each other to maintain different comfort zones to save energy. There are essentially no corridors. Each space opens onto another space so no space is wasted. Space that normally would have been circulation, or halls, is integrated into the rooms. Not only does it make the rooms feel much larger it also allows the space to evolve over the years. It is easier to reconfigure, refurnish or remodel large open spaces than try to remodel a lot of small rooms. An attached two car garage is connected to a large projects room that has a pantry and a back mud entry for the house. This room can be used for laundry or other projects, with expansive counter surface for flower arranging, wrapping gifts or folding laundry. The Kitchen, Family and Entertaining spaces open onto a large terrace, partly covered, with outdoor grill and fire pit. The bedroom wing centers around a a study-library-computer room gathering space for the family. The Master Bedroom has a private courtyard that could have a hot tub as quiet retreat for the parents. A storage hallway with closets and room to hang things on the wall connects to an independent Garage which can double as an indoor playroom for kids in the winter. Exterior views of this plan can be seen here. Interior views can be seen here.
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Downstairs main Verandah Upstairs Owners Suite Verandah First Floor Plan Second Floor Plan This 7,200 sf plan is comprised of three building...
Ground Floor Plan Second Floor Plan Co-housing Manor is a design exercise looking at a different form of housing for today's Baby Boomer generation that wants to downsize and simplify from the large homes they raised their families in. In many ways they still need the large homes after their kids have grown and moved away. They need the number of bedrooms for when the next generation comes to visit. They need the large kitchen and entertaining areas for family celebrations and holidays. The three car garage also has become a large project or hobby space that is difficult to give up when downsizing. And often an adult kid may need to come back to live at home when economic hardship or divorce happens. Family members often like to be in closer proximity to each other. Like in the case of an elderly relative that needs to watched over, or the need to take care of a house while someone is traveling for extended periods. The expense of gas and frustration of traffic at certain times of the day can limit the ability of family members to travel across town or between cities to be supportive of each other. Families today also are comprised of close friends that they feel the same level of care for as actual relations and are an integral part of their lives. Co-Housing Manor is a way for a close group of people to live together in a supportive way and still maintain a level of privacy and autonomy. It is five independent living units that share larger common amenities that are difficult to give up when moving to smaller homes, as well as allow the supportive family environment that close proximity allows. There are five living units ranging from 638 to 1729 square feet. The total building area is 8900 square feet giving an average of 1,800 sf per unit. So it allows you to downsize to about 1,500 sf yet retain the large public areas that would be common in a house of 8 to 10 thousand square feet. There is a 19' by 32' Great Hall that can be used for large entertaining such as holidays or family celebrations like birthdays or weddings. It can also be available to invite the wider neighborhood in for community interaction. There is a likewise large outdoor covered gathering space for more casual or impromptu socializing. Supporting both spaces is a large central kitchen which can have larger capacity appliances for use of residents and offers more space than in their private units for projects that need larger layout counters. There is a guest suite attached to the common area to accommodate visitors that allows both they and you privacy that is difficult when you have downsized to a condominium. There is a separate garage that can be set up for a shop or be used for extra storage of sports equipment or hobbies that would not fit within the single garage provided each unit. There are five two story townhouses at each corner separated by garages so they are very private and there is no chance of noise transmission through common walls. The rooms are on the small side, but there are large master baths and walk in closets normally found in larger homes. There is a second space that can be used for home office, guest room or media center. A studio apartment on the second floor can be rented out or used for an adult child that has moved back, or for a person that can act as a caretaker for the complex. Click here to see exterior views. Click here to see interior views. Click here to see another Co-housing Design Concept
In 1947 Life Magazine published three modern house plans, one was called the Minimum House and was designed by Oregon architect Pietro Belluschi. It was a 25' square house that could be built for $7,000 and later expanded for a growing family. This plan was probably intended for soldiers returning from WWII and ready to start families. The children of those families (known as Baby Boomers) are starting to enter retirement. Our Minimum House Plan is inspired by the original but updated for Baby Boomers who want a small house for cost reasons, because they don't need a large home any more, for a second home or retreat, or because they want to live more sustainably with more efficient use of resources and less maintenance. Our Minimum House is a 25' by 35' (850 sf plus storage) open plan with a large covered terrace. The Life Magazine article said "the minimum house provides a maximum of pleasant living", which is what we tried to achieve with this updated plan. The space is open and flows around the house. The space is very comfortable with high ceilings and wrap around windows. It will be well suited for entertaining. Some spaces have multiple uses; such as the entry, which in most small homes tends to be tight and cramped or enter directly into the living room, in this plan the space also has a built in desk for home office or desktop computer along with a wall of storage closets. The bathroom is compartmentalized so that guests can use it as a powder room without going through the sleeping area. Two vanity areas allow separate sinks for couples and one has a 6' long counter top for folding laundry or packing your suitcase. There is a large walk-in closet and storage room added to the carport is available to store stuff. So while small in square footage it has plenty of living space and storage for a single person or a couple. In 1951 Pietro Belluschi designed the Griffith house that was a small home similar to Life's Minimum home. This house survived until a few years ago and has been dismantled and will be reconstructed as the Belluschi Pavilion on the campus of Marylhurst University in Lake Oswego Oregon. You can find information on the Griffith House as well as reprints of the Life Magazine articles here. Another Minimum House Plan can be seen here.
Image 13 of 16 from gallery of TJ House / Ben Walker Architects. Detail 01
This vintage mid-century modern model home - the House & Garden magazine Hallmark House for 1963 - offered nearly 5000 square feet of beautiful 60s style.
Image 28 of 29 from gallery of Orum Residence / SPF: architects. First floor plan
Located in Thousand Oaks, California Case Study House #28 was the last of the program started in 1945 by Art & Architecture magazine. What began as an experiment in American residential architecture the initial goal of the program was to create show homes of affordable, modern housing in response to the sudden increase in demand with created with the return of millions of soldiers after the end of the Second World War. Designed by the firm of Buff, Hensman and Associates Case study house #28 was completed in 1966 and demonstrates that after 20 years of the Case Study Program the goal of affordable modern housing had given way to simply showcasing innovations in modern architectural design. The home is still around today and is listed in the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
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Downstairs main Verandah Upstairs Owners Suite Verandah First Floor Plan Second Floor Plan This 7,200 sf plan is comprised of three building...
This design looks at what is the minimum needed for an Island vacation home. Two bedroom suites, a kitchen and utility room make up the enclosed portion of this 680 sf house. The rest of the living area is outside or under roof cover. An entry courtyard on the windward side of the house buffers the wind force as well as provide an outdoor room with sun bed and sitting area. The main living area is an open verandah facing the view on the leeward side of the house. A work alcove and a media alcove have sliding doors to be locked off when not in residence. Each bedroom suite has a private walled garden with a rain shower. The kitchen also opens to the outdoor living area with lockable sliding doors and has a washer and dryer. A utility room is provided for storage and mechanical components. The simplicity of this plan creates a very spacious and casual environment while providing all the functional needs for an Island hideaway. For another in the series of Minimum Plans look here.
Main Floor Plan Second Floor Plan This plan is a traditional Island plan where four corner rooms surround a central living area. This configuration allows all rooms to get ventilation from four sides. In this 3,850 sf plan accordion doors allow the central Great Room to be completely opened to the outdoors, becoming an outdoor space. This is more efficient because you are not building both interior and outdoor covered space, reducing construction cost and resulting in more spacious rooms. The Great Room is 40' X 32', with a 21' X 18' loft suspended above. There are two identical Bedroom Suites facing the pool and a third Guest Bedroom in back. The Guest Bedroom/Laundry wing could be configured for two smaller bedrooms with the laundry moved to the Garage or out building.
Ground Floor Plan Second Floor Plan (Optional, or could be left unfinished) This courtyard plan allows a lot of flexibility for future changes without expanding beyond it's initial footprint. This house starts as a 1660 sf two bedroom, two bath home on one level. Adding the upper level above the garage increases it's area to 2309 sf, while incorporating the enclosed garage as living space increases the area to 2670 sf. The house is approximately 66' deep and 50' wide. The 16' x 17' courtyard brings light deep inside the house and allows for easy natural ventilation in the summer. The courtyard provides private and safe outdoor living space even within a dense urban neighborhood. The optional space above the garage could be left unfinished until it is needed to save cost. It is large enough to be divided into two bedrooms with a bath for children, or can be made into a large master suite for parents. In the illustration it is shown as a large media work space for two people. The separation of the garage into an enclosed area and an open carport allows the garage to be incorporated into the living space of the house, while still leaving a covered parking space for those people with one car. The garage could be remodeled into an office or study at a later date. It could be made into a family room by opening the wall into the house, which will connect it to the kitchen and provide views into the courtyard. So from a single footprint, or foundation, you can have a comfortable two bedroom house, or a larger four bedroom house, or a four bedroom house with office or family room. Flexibility to grow. Flexibility to change over time. See this post for an illustration of how the plan can evolve.
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Island Plan 2 draws design inspiration from Japanese architecture, combined with our Island concept of each room being a building of its own for maximum privacy and to facilitate natural ventilation. Wide six foot roof overhangs create covered connections between buildings as well as providing shade and wind protection to the open rooms within. The design orients around an entry courtyard, a central Great Room and a Kitchen Dining pavilion. The Great Room has large sliding glass doors on four sides allowing it to be opened up as an outdoor Lanai, while also allowing wind control by closing sides toward windward for greater comfort. The buildings are laid out so there are through vistas allowing glimpses of water views, no matter where you area. Each Guest Suite has a terrace overlooking the water and each bath has sliding doors that open the bath onto private walled garden courtyards. The outdoor spaces between buildings are each developed with unique landscape and water features for a variety of garden environments within the house. The naturally shaped infinity pool has terraces and wood decks cascading down to the pool's edge with both sunny areas and shady spots to enjoy the view. Using wood decks as the lowest terrace allows the house to perch lightly over the rocks and natural landscape when viewed from the water. From the entry, or street side, the house appears low and unassuming, and it is not until you walk through a portico do you see the buildings set in gardens with the sea beyond. Only when a guest is seated in the Great Room does the whole house and it's site present itself through the large windows and doors on four sides. This is a very Japanese concept of unfolding the view of a house, culminating when a guest is comfortably seated and can appreciate the full setting and hospitality of the host.
This independent project is a 6 bedroom villa for a Qatari client. The residence is built using materials and construction methods readily available in Qatar. The sunshades, a necessity in the Middle East, are used as a prominent feature in the design.
An icon of American Modernism the Kaufmann Desert House is an instantly recognizable classic. A perfect marriage of glass, stone, and steel in the desert it is a triumph of modernist ideals and post war exuberance.
Plans © MCMarchitects 2010 AA Rights Reserved Ground Floor Plan Plans © MCMarchitects 2010 All Rights Reserved Upper Flo...
Main Level Plan Upper Level Plan The wrap around veranda has often been used in tropical climates because it captures and channels the wind into the building, as well as shelter open doors and windows from the driving rain. This design is a very simple layout with all rooms having doors on two sides to facilitate natural cooling. The downstairs has public spaces while the upstairs is for the family, with three bedrooms and private sitting areas. Two independent guest suites connected to the downstairs veranda provide very private guest accommodations. The open column, rail and fretwork of the exterior can be filled in with rolling shades or folding louver panels depending on the wind orientation and sun exposure. This is a very open house where the symmetry and uncomplicated plan layout create a very relaxing and casual indoor outdoor environment for Island living. A reduced size version of this plan can be seen here.
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Plans © MCMarchitects 2010 AA Rights Reserved Ground Floor Plan Plans © MCMarchitects 2010 All Rights Reserved Upper Floor Plan This contemporary farm or ranch house has 4,013 sf on two floors. It has a wrap around covered porch. The garage is detached, connected to the main house by a covered breezeway which enters into a large Mud Room. The central Living Room opens to the covered porch on one end and a private courtyard on the other. A Master Bedroom wing includes a home office that has windows on three sides for abundant light and views. Two upstairs bedrooms flank a central family room so guests, or children, have their own gathering area. The steep gable roofs and wrap around porch suggest an updated Victorian style farm house that will sit comfortably on a large country or ranch property. Another Farm House Design can be found here.
Architecturally Designed Kit Homes
The clients came to our office with the intention of moving into property development. The common ground was that they were focused on presenting...
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Our readers are an insatiably curious bunch, especially when it comes to information about their homes. Based on some recent inquiring e-mails, and the steady popularity of the to
