Springfield Architecture

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There are many styles of residential homes in the US, The Tudor style was very popular in the 1920s and 30s, this style has steep roofs and asymmetrical. Different materials were used on the outside of the home such as “half-timbering” in which stucco and or brick was used with wood timbers. Tudor style home is like an English home, the windows are tall with small panes, and doorways are arched as well as the windows.

Features of Tudor style homes or buildings include:

• Half-timbering
• Steeply pitched roofs
• Cross gables
• Tall and narrow windows and doors
• Window panes are small
• Chimneys are very large, with decorative tops added on

Beginning in the 19^th century a mix of styles from Gothic and Elizabethan were used for train stations, hotels and modern style homes known as Tudor. This style is from England, and became popular in the United States because it was easy to build. They Tudor style was being built with stucco and half-timbers making the construction very easy.

Tudor style homes became modernized in the 70s and 80s, this style is like that of medieval buildings, most Tudor style homes are two stories, but one story are being built.

How do you know if your home is a true Tudor style, find out how old your home is, when it was built, what is on the exterior, stucco, brick. Are there half-timbering on the walls, is the chimney tall, and has decorative pots on top. How is the roof shaped? Are the windows tall with small panes? There are many questions to answer when trying to find out the style of your home.

Tudor style house in the US are re-inventions and are called Tudor Revival or Medieval style homes. Medieval homes were built with real wood or half-timbering, where Tudor homes being built in the United States are fake timbering, the woodwork is being built with different designs and style by using stucco or brick with the half-timbering.

Tudor styles may include large mansions to a small cottage style home, there are many different style of Tudor being built in the Us that will resemble to homes in different parts of England, when looking at a Tudor style home it makes you think of an historic home, even though it may have been recently built, it has the look of something built in the 1800s.

The Craftsman style of architectural building began in the late 1920′s. It began in the 1860′s as a style done by a man named William Morris. He started to build houses like this because they were man made and not mass produced. Craftsman means that it was made during the Arts and Crafts movement. These were the most popular in the 1930′s but they are still one of the most popular style homes. A lot of the Craftsman houses that were built in the 1930′s are still standing today and contractors are still using plans to build them today.

These Craftsman houses have some common features. They all have low-pitched roof lines, gabled or hipped roof. They have deeply overhanging eaves. Craftsman houses also have exposed rafters or decorative brackets under eaves. They all have front porches. These porches are usually large and are covered.  They have tapered, square columns supporting roof. Craftsman houses have double hung windows that are 4 over 1 or 6 over 1. All of the stone on a Craftsman is hand crafted as well as the wood work. They use different kinds of materials on the structure. These houses are generally 1 ½ stories.

There are a lot of details that go in to the craftsman style homes. There are a lot of hammered metals in copper or bronze or both. There are art tiles that are handcrafted by art potteries. The craftsman houses have big fireplaces and there is usually cabinet work on either side of the fireplace.

The Craftsman style houses are simpler then some of the other styles we may have seen but they also have a lot more character. They are made with materials that are meant to last and these homes hold up for many years.

The craftsman style homes are also more commonly seen then some other style of houses. But not so common that they still do not hold their own uniqueness. With so many homes today being mass produced they tend to all look alike. This will not be the case with a Craftsman home. Your house will stand out amid a bunch of other houses. They are popular in all parts of the country. They are in fact an American tradition. They are a part of history that has stayed with us for many years and will surely be here for many more.

The Prairie style was developed by Frank Lloyd Wright, who believed that homes should not be for show but built on what people needed, the prairie style home was built like a box shaped style. Prairie homes are known for big flowing rooms, focusing on the dining and living room area. The windows were designed to be very large and take up an entire wall, so the wide outdoors can be viewed.  A prairie home was built horizontal as well as the features used to build the home such as bricks, trim and siding. Wright used simple materials for his homes as well as natural stains; this would allow the character of the wood to show. The roofs were flat with overhangs to provide some shade to the home.

Prairie style homes plans favored on the dining and living area being the largest and centered, whereas today many families are centered on their kitchens, and want a large kitchen. There are some original prairie homes that were designed by Wright still standing and are very expensive, these homes are in the Midwest, where wright designed the first Prairie home.

Prairie style homes were once built with plaster and wood trim, prairie style homes are now built with concrete block, they are still built square and many others shapes as well. There are features that will help you to recognize a prairie style home: low roof, overhanging eaves, chimney in center of home and most of all the open floor plan.

Prairie style houses are actually from Japanese Architecture, the floor plan was designed to flow with the landscape. There are many styles of the prairie home; its look like the home comes up out of the ground.

Foursquare homes were built with materials like brick, block and stucco. Features also include two stories, large porch, low roof with overhang, large central rooms.

Today there are many styles of the prairie style homes, there are new designers that are building prairie style homes today, they focus on an open floor plan as the original prairie house, they are all box type homes, but the style has changed, they now can be different shapes such as L-shaped, etc. many beach homes are of that of the prairie style house, a square box, with additional little boxes to make a larger home.

A prairie style is a box square home that might look small from the outside but the rooms are open and very large.

There are some that say that the style of Art Deco began in Paris in the 20^th century but others are also saying that it started somewhere between 1920 and the start of the World War II. Art deco really begins to hit the scene in the 1920′s and 1930′s when it was being used more and more in industrial and architecture buildings. The words Art deco came from the Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs Industrials ET Modernes held in Paris in 1925. Art deco appears to be modern by the way that it looks but it actually comes from a style like was used in Egyptian tombs.

Art deco is a style that has sleek aesthetic, symmetrical geometric shapes. It is symbolized by its bold colors. Some of these colors are yellow, purple, ruby and turquoise. There are patterns that are like zig zags and chevrons. Often there are things like the gods and goddesses of sports, patience, adventure, and progress were given bodies and faces and graced the entrances and interiors of many examples of Art Deco architecture.

Some pretty popular buildings in the USA were built using the Deco Style. For example the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building were both built with the art deco style. However, Deco has become popular for residential builders as well; especially in two cities in the United States where you can find numerous art deco residential houses. Those cities are Los Angeles and Miami Beach. Many apartment complexes are constructed using the Deco style as well.

Residential art deco houses are rare but they are out there. They are usually constructed with unusual characteristics that you will not find on another house. They may have curved windows, flat roofs and white rendered plaster. The walls are usually done in smooth stucco and the corners are rounded. They are often done with items like glass block, neon, chrome, mirrors and opaque glass panels. There are often things like tile throughout the house that are set in a pattern. The geometry in art deco houses are things like cubes, trapezoids, chevrons and circles. These geometric tiles are used on floors, walls and even fireplaces. An art deco house is unique and beautiful.

Art deco has been around for a long time and will be around for some time to come. Art deco in residential buildings like houses may be rare but when you are lucky enough to find one you can be sure that you have found a gem and need to keep a hold of it.

Art Moderne is very close in style to Art Deco. Art Moderne came along in the 1930′s. The Art Moderne is also referred to as the Machine Age. It is streamlined architecture. This means that it has some of the characteristics of an Art Deco architectural building but it is more modern looking.

Some of the characteristics of an Art Moderne home are horizontal orientation, rounded edges, corner windows and glass block walls. They also can have porthole windows and chrome hardware. They have a flat roof and stucco walls. There are horizontal grooves or lines in walls. The colors of an Art Moderne house are more subdued. There are colors like light earth tones, beige’s and off whites. The trims are usually done in a dark colors or are done in metals.

Some of the most famous architecture buildings in the word were done in Art Moderne. Some of examples of these are the Long Beach Airport, the Strand Palace Hotel and the Hotel Shangri LA.

There are several different kinds of Art Moderne houses. The first is called Tweed.  This house has a two story curved window that wraps around the entrance corner. The windows and doors on this house are done in black. It has smooth wall finishes and a flat roof.

Another one is the Hamilton. This house gives you the feel of an ocean liner with its porthole windows and the upper deck. It has horizontal lines and has a smooth window. This house like all Art Moderne houses has rounded windows.

The Kitchener has a plain smooth finish. The horizontal banding the corner sash windows and the large bow window are all typical characteristics of an Art Moderne home. This one has an Art Deco surround door for the entrance. The concrete door surround has a vaguely ziggurat form and an undulating ogee curve. As you can tell it is very common to find Art Deco and Art Moderne used in the same house. And they compliment each other well.

The Simcoe has a rough finish done in gray. The stucco is rougher then you would normally find on an Art Moderne home. This one has no extra detailing except one band around the flat roof. There are three different wings on this house with the top wing having a balcony.

As you can see Art Moderne are not houses that you will find on every street corner. They are unique in their own style.