In 1945 a group of architects got together at the editorial offices of
Arts and Architecture magazine to develop a program of residential housing that they hoped would define the shape and form of post-war living. The results were the Case Study Houses, which were published in that magazine from 1945 through 1964. These were intended to make use of new materials developed during war-time, to be easily duplicated, and of course, to be affordable.
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| 3128 and 3130 W. Jarvis, 1957 |
These prototypes generated a lot of interest. With some exceptions high-style modernist variations on the single-family home never filled the new neighborhoods and suburbs of post-war America. The building industries didn't instantly adopt new materials and construction methods and the American public reaffirmed its long-time preference for traditional styles of architecture. Some of these modernist homes were built, but generally they were unique, built for a specific site and client. That's not to say some builders and developers didn't make periodic forays into what is now considered the mid-century modern style.
Above are two homes which make a nod towards the steel and glass aesthetic of the Case Study homes. But just a nod. Like you might nod to someone at the bus stop who looks familiar. Take note of the large windows, the off-set canted roofs, the clerestories, the rectilinear orientation, etc. But also note that nothing is too far out of line from what is seen on the more traditional-styled colonials of the same period. The picture windows are just picture windows, not floor to ceiling glass. The flat roofs are just stick-built roofs with projecting eaves, not steel cantilevers.
The building industries did modernize after WWII, but not in the way proposed by
Arts and Architecture. Instead the industry standardized traditional construction elements (roofs, floors, walls), which could be combined like Legos and cheaply assembled block after block.
As much as I admire the Case Study homes they really seem huge compared to what can be fit onto a standard Chicago lot. Each of these homes on Jarvis are on a 30' x 124' lot. But I like how they mirror each other, giving the impression of a much larger, symmetrical home. And their alternating use of brick and permastone make them look unified, but not identical. They probably haven't drastically transformed the lives of the people who have lived there, but I doubt the Case Study houses did that either.
