Midcentury modern tours now are taking place in cities all over the country. Renewed interest in this era capitalizes on the millennials’ interest in design from a time that seems almost impossibly optimistic compared to today’s zeitgeist. Most cities around the country boast a healthy building stock from this postwar period, nicknamed “the suburbs,” although these are ritually condemned – and designated for annihilation – by academics, urban land speculators and the urban clerisy.
Yet the new interest in the mid-century modern form reflects its basic and enduring appeal. As the curious and the trendy take bus tours of these inner-ring neighborhoods, the forms of this era evoke a sense of great confidence and faith in the future, both of which seem to be lost in the obsession with neo-traditional forms that hearken to the pre-car era or to the cartoonlike, sculpture-as-architecture one sees in many urban centers.
Suburban expansion after World War II reached out beyond the streetcar systems that created the traditional neighborhoods of the late 19thand early 20th Century. The returning GIs wanted something simple and affordable to begin their lives after serving their country. Confidence surged in America’s know-how and ability to solve even the deepest social problems. The triumph of science and technology was a palpable presence. The dark side, of course, was the atomic threat, restraining our enthusiasm but only a little.
In this midcentury era, planning and design began to be car-based. Residences were designed to show off the car, putting it out front for display – and some home plans even had tailfinned beauties in the living room.
Living Garage, photo from Populuxe by Thomas Hine
Consumer goods were no longer accessed on foot; a new form of luxury consisted of driving up to the front door of a shop with parking in front. Front-loading houses and stores became unquestionably more efficient as a means to accommodate the new American lifestyle.
Yet despite the auto-orientation, the architecture of this era retained the pedestrian scale and intimate feel that marked Main Street before World War 2. This both/and aesthetic marks the form of the 1940s and 1950s, with streamlined design styles like Art Deco Revival and materials like glass and stainless steel. Gentle angles suggested motion, and the theme of mobility was everywhere in the architecture. Wider streets and lower, longer horizontal lines accommodated this theme and even today the architecture reinforces a feel of motion when driving past these structures.
Modernism also formed a certain ethic. To be modern was more than a lifestyle choice; it was an acceptance of science, knowledge, and technology, free from preconceptions. At the time, modernism elevated architecture above the style debate, and was considered even a shedding of styles. The politics of the time was similarly marked by Truman’s “straight talk”, and there was a shedding of rhetoric and posturing that lasted up until Joe McCarthy began once again a divide-and-conquer campaign against people.
Translated to the suburbs, modernism meant practical homes, without the adornment that marked Victorian architecture. Instead, modernist residences were marked by deep horizontals and large picture windows, providing a sense of openness that was a hallmark of modernist thought. Floor plans also were open, allowing free movement through space, rather than cutting the house up into cluttered little parlors, dining rooms, or nooks.
Today, midcentury modern design is fetishized for mass consumption in magazines like Dwell that emphasize acquisitiveness over ethics. But back then, the design meant something else, something cleaner and more powerful. In the 1950s, modernism meant consumption, but even more, the modernism defined the quest for the inner self and a new, forward looking outlook.
By reducing modernism to a sofa style or wallpaper pattern, we risk losing all that this era stood for. Buildings from the 1950s have sustained themselves through multiple recessions, the rise of the internet, cultural acceleration, massive city growth, and globalism. So perhaps they point towards a real definition of sustainability by having good bones and adapting through all these changes.
The current millennial generation seeks a practical domestic situation, much like returning GIs. Most would prefer to reduce car-trips, but are realistic about this goal, given the range of their travel. Most in this generation see right through car-free living claims; more than one of my students, when discussing walkability, stated that “I’m not gonna lug my groceries even a block in this heat.” The battle with the car is chiefly about making the car more efficient, and less ubiquitous through the use of telecommuting and on-line shopping. It is not about removing it from the scene entirely.
So as McMansions have swollen to represent a kind of architectural obesity, they have made many midcentury neighborhoods unfashionable, for typically these older homes have one parking space, often in a carport, not a true garage. They also are front-loaded, a much more efficient planning concept than alleys, but then the car becomes part of the front façade. Millennials have a hard time understanding what’s wrong with that. Again, as one 28-year-old student put it to me, “It’s just a house, after all…what’s the big deal?”
Developers seeking first-time homebuyers, however, respond to the regulatory climate, which favors solutions like garages on alleys, big homes on tight lots, and neotraditional styling. Bonus density and other zoning incentives rig the game in favor of this highly regulated development pattern, even in the exurbs. Here in Central Florida, the development zone nicknamed Horizon West has been codified to enforce these form-based principles, with stiff permitting fees and a highly participatory government staff to keep things on the straight-and-narrow.
Keeping prices low with all this overburden requires developers to cut the cost of the home drastically, likely reducing lifespan of components and systems. Ironically, the house meeting these tortured standards of today is less sustainable than the house built in 1953, with better bones and an adaptable floor plan.
Meanwhile, these 1950s neighborhoods are under attack for their very form. Cities, persuaded by planners to heal the effects of the car, cannot do so in a granular manner, so ordinances are passed forbidding front-facing garages, or garages set back arbitrarily from the house front. These 1950s homes, with their carports, couldn’t be built today, and so are reduced to the status of heritage sites from a bygone era. In Winter Park, garages are banished to the rear on new homes, and if you are adding a garage to your midcentury home, it must be arbitrarily set back at least four feet from your front wall whether or not your lot can accommodate this arbitrary, and seemingly pointless, ordinance.
Of course mid modern tours allow people to rediscover the essence of the 1950s, and these overlooked neighborhoods could be the springboard for a new era in modern planning. Front-loaded neighborhoods can be successful when the architecture is designed at a human scale, and fine-grained integration of residential and commercial uses point to a future of home-office, cottage-industry, people-based industry once again.
The Victorian era ended rather abruptly in the 1890s with a series of economic catastrophes that changed America’s middle class. Architecture switched to a more streamlined, Edwardian style – simple, flexible, and utilitarian forms that quickly gave rise to modernist design. This current economic transition may well bode a similar outcome – design styles, often labeled “contemporary,” reduce the amount of architectural gingerbread and fussiness, reducing cost and maintenance, and may be favored by the coming generation for its cleanliness and utility.
A new era that manages the car at a human scale, forgives people for wanting mobility and efficiency, and allows for contemporary exploration of style and design can and should inform new neighborhood planning. Midcentury suburbs, rediscovered by popular interest, can point the way to a middle ground between mcmansion-style subdivisions and neotraditional fussiness, and maybe even help us rediscover our confidence and faith once again.
This essay is a summary of Richard Reep’s talk “Populuxe and the Atomic Bungalow” given at the 3rd annual Colloquium on Historic Preservation, hosted by Friends of Casa Feliz, Winter Park, Florida in April 2012. Richard and his wife, Kim Mathis, hosted a midcentury modern tour in their own 1950s home for the colloquium.
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Normally, I am bitching about excess apostrophes.
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During a visit to Palm Springs, California earlier this year (where at least 75% of the buildings are mid century modern), I discovered that Mid Century Modern cities can be incredibly pedestrian and bike friendly.
Palm Springs has a minimum residential density (for detatched products) of 4dU/acre (quarter acre lots). Many properties are much larger, of course. The height limit for all structures is two or perhaps three stories (with very few exceptions).
These two factors result in less population density, resulting in less traffic. This results in bike and pedestrian friendliness, as do the incredibly wide streets and even wider right-of-ways. Some streets have very wide sidewalks and bike lanes, and due to the City’s mandatory wide street standards, some even have separate grade multi-use corridors.
The City has a designated bike route, and of all of the Southwestern cities, it has more “bicycle traffic” then many desert cities of a much higher density (i.e. Las Vegas and Phoenix). Thousand Oaks, California has wide streets, less density, and is also incredibly bike and pedestrian friendly.
Although traffic in Palm Streets is faster due to the wider streets, and further spacing of stop lights, people learn to “adjust,” and the cyclists and pedestrians have wide sidewalks, wide bike lanes, shoulders, or multi-use sidepaths in some areas. It’s a great place for cycling, given the wide streets, much safer than smart growth towns with narrow, congested streets with parked cars, such as Seattle, Boulder, or Portland. One reason I oppose smart growth is the dangerous conditions for cyclists and pedestrians, due to escalating high density. Indeed, since “garages” down narrow garage alleys in smart growth cities are often filled, people park their cars on the streets. This makes smart growth streets even more dangerous for cyclists and pedestrians, since a 30 foot street may be narrowed to 18 feet due to the parked cars on both sides.
Bike lanes in the aforementioned cities do not prevent all bike accidents, and cyclists must be very alert and follow all rules of the road. However, this is no guarantee, especially given the heavy traffic. The bike lanes and their advocacy by local smart growth governments gives riders the impression that things are “safer” for cyclists, but this is far from the case. I wish these officials the best in making things “safer,” but given escalating density and gridlock, then the density problem will soon become a reality for policymakers.
Finally, the amount of vegetation cover (with palm trees and other species) in Palm Springs is very high, due to the larger lot sizes and lack of a requirement for “gravelscaping.” Indeed, Palm Springs is a very green city, given the bike and pedestrian friendliness, and the tree canopy.
I should point out that some of the neighboring cities in the Cochella Valley (near Palm Springs) have higher densities, narrower lanes, and greater amounts of traffic. And, they do not necessarily have as much mid-century modern architecture. Palm Springs is the best Cochella Valley city, in terms of mid-century modern architectural standards and street designs.
When I visited a part of Fort Wayne Indiana, platted in the time frame 1900-1920 it became obvious that even with garages, there was not enough space to park cars, as both sides of the street were parked full, and the space between was barely enough to get thru. Smart growth would likely have the same result as what we see today in the Street Car suburbs. (Both of the neighborhoods are now historic districts btw). So we have a demonstration that unless teenagers are restricted to no cars or the neighborhood restricts teen agers living there, there will not be enough space to park all the cars required (3 to 4 per house depending on the ages of the teen agers).
People can take a different approach on what modern architecture is. Some people don’t realize that modern is simply today’s version of architecture. Back in the early 1900s, modern architecture existed, but it was obviously a completely different style. I like how this article lays out the basics of how to look at a piece of architecture through an architect’s eyes. I’ve been looking to invest in some office space for my new business, and looking at the commercial side of architecture is completely different. I appreciate design a lot more and realize that it’s important to have commercial real estate that is relevant to what you like personally. Your office should represent your company and you as a person.
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A new era that manages the car at a human scale, forgives people for wanting mobility and efficiency, and allows for contemporary exploration of style and design can and should inform new neighborhood planning. Midcentury suburbs, rediscovered by popular interest, can point the way to a middle ground between mcmansion-style subdivisions and neotraditional fussiness, and maybe even help us rediscover our confidence and faith once again. The Worldtravel Guide
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I’m not really sure why Springfield and the smaller cities named their streets the way they did. Must have been Washington DC’s influence. In any case, boring as they are, they are understandable and it didn’t take them a long time to figure things out, which is good in and by itself. http://www.toppersonalloanswithbadcredit.com/
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