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  • 1.  Rebuilding Midcentury Houses

    Posted 12-04-2013 05:51 PM
    I'm sure that some of you have recently seen this article from Residential Architect. In a nutshell, it is a young real estate professional who is looking for a way to build new Eichler homes.
    http://www.architectmagazine.com/development/bringing-the-eichlers-back-to-the-bay-area.aspx?dfpzone=home&utm_source=newsletter&utm_content=jump&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=RABU_120413&day=2013-12-04

    Do you think this is possible? Good idea? Bad Idea? I would be interested in your collective thoughts.

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    Brenda Nelson Assoc. AIA
    Woodruff Design, LLC
    Ankeny IA
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  • 2.  RE:Rebuilding Midcentury Houses

    Posted 12-05-2013 05:39 PM
    It is a bad idea to copy the designs exactly for more than the obvious reason. Designs from just 10 years ago are dated as far as how we use houses. Any Real Estate Agent should understand design obsolescence. I'll bet many of these Eichler Homes had very small Kitchens that would be considered dysfunctional today. Today's Kitchen is the new Family Room. Everyone hangs out in the Kitchen. Codes have changed a lot since Eichler was building and I remember seeing some of these houses with windows in bedrooms that don't meet egress standards. Each market area requires a slightly different configuration depending on the demographic. When you design to sell, you have to pay attention to this. It's a much different design problem than a millionaire's house that has enough money to resist appraisal value and common sense, so you can really have some fun.

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    Eric Rawlings AIA
    Owner
    Rawlings Design, Inc.
    Decatur GA
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  • 3.  RE:Rebuilding Midcentury Houses

    Posted 12-05-2013 06:12 PM
    Dear Brenda,
    I too am a huge fan of the Midcentury  modern home aesthetic, however they are terribly enery inefficient.  Unless you live in a very moderate climate, the heating and cooling costs for Eichler envelop homes is very expensive.  It is very possible to incorporate numerous elements of that design, however energy codes will severely hamper reviving the Eichler home in its original form without going to expensive glass and envelop insulating materials.  Love the home though!

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    Ricardo Ramos Assoc. AIA, LEED® AP
    Arcadia CA
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  • 4.  RE:Rebuilding Midcentury Houses

    Posted 12-06-2013 08:41 AM
    I know Monique personally. She spent $40,000 on the movie about Eichler Houses. She is very dedicated to building new houses using the original designs. They are going to be up to modern codes. The original houses are of very bad quality by today's standards. Large single pane windows, galvanized pipes in slabs for radiant heat, not designed for earthquakes, the interiors are of mahogany plywood that is very flammable , no insulation, etc! She has permission from the Eichler family and the families of the original architects. We have discussed that the house still needs to be sited on a lot, modified to fit site and soil conditions, etc . I found it interesting that she is using a young
    Inexperienced non architect to redo the plans . Odd that this is promoted in ARCHITECT magazine!
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    John Stewart AIA
    Stewart Associates Architects
    San Carlos CA
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  • 5.  RE:Rebuilding Midcentury Houses

    Posted 12-09-2013 05:41 PM
    John - I'm so glad that you have some personal knowledge of this project and could share that with the group. Thank you.

    I'm a big mid century modern fan and was fortunate enough to have lived in a great mid century house for even a short time here in the Midwest (not something easily found here!). I've started collecting information to hopefully write my own research on Midwest ranches at some point in the distant future. I felt I should disclose my love affair with mid century homes before continuing.

    I wanted to get some feed back from all of you as you have more experience than I, but this article brought up a couple of things in my mind.

    1. She wants to build new houses using old plans. I love this idea because I happen to think that in some of the mid century modern homes there are several things that we lost over time that are very applicable to today's standards. Built-ins for example. Sure, some are awful, but a house with built-ins is automatically more interesting to me than one without.
    BUT, as an academic discussion, should we be "recreating history"? By the time she alters the plans to adapt to today's environment with energy efficiency and California requirements, maybe she won't actually be "recreating history".

    2. The article certainly made it sound like the person helping her was a young, inexperienced, but passionate designer. As an intern architect, I probably fall into the same category. In the article, it states that the fee quotes she received from (what I assumed to be) licensed architects/architecture firms were astronomical (I think those were her words). I work in a small firm and am familiar with our billing structure and understand that for her project, in her location, for comprehensive service, they seemed to be in line. Did the young designer do a disservice to the industry by undercutting fees significantly? Or is it entrepreurial of him to work on such a unique project that might ultimately add credentials to him and architect-designed homes? Admittedly, I'm a bit on the fence.

    Overall, I have to say that I'm more curious than (my usual) judgemental about the project and am very interested to see if it picks up some momentum and gets going. I try to read as much about mid century houses as possible and pick up the most current issue of Atomic Ranch each quarter. Eichler houses get a lot of press and I wonder how "new Eichlers" will be perceived by the public.

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    Brenda Nelson Assoc. AIA
    Woodruff Design, LLC
    Ankeny IA
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    Original Message


  • 6.  RE:Rebuilding Midcentury Houses

    Posted 12-09-2013 06:29 PM

    I think that it is reprehensible that any publication purporting to represent the interests of licensed Architects promotes any design work (residential or otherwise) being done by anyone other than a licensed REAL Architect.  The hordes are at the gates and to quote Jim Carrey: our businesses are E--RRRR-OOOOO--DDD-ING!  I totally agree with John Stewart on his assessment of this.
    It is a slap in the face of residential Architects throughout the USA.  Obviously the implication is that the client is using unlicensed "designers" to "save" money.  What should have been pointed out is that Architects SAVE more than their fee due to their knowledgeable use of energy saving techniques and systems, more durable materials, lighting, more efficient use of space (yes, you actually do learn how to space plan better after having been a licensed Architect for several decades).  Arggggh!  BAD idea. 
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    Rand Soellner
    Architect/Owner/Principal
    Home Architects
    Cashiers NC
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  • 7.  RE:Rebuilding Midcentury Houses

    Posted 12-11-2013 04:12 AM

    When Joseph Eichler decided to build his homes he hired two extraordinary architects, Quincy Jones and Robert Anshen. Now that Monique Lombardelli is trying to replicate the beautiful simplicity of the Eichler home she has hired a low cost "angel" in the form of designer "Burt Bacharach".

    Isn't the real essence of an Eichler home found in its quality of space and its connection to the exterior? Yet the article presents Lombardelli's designer as being focused solely on the home's energy rating. He shows distain for Eichler's whole house fans, which are a wonderful low-cost and energy efficient way to cool a home. He is quoted, "I mean, there's crap being blown up from all kinds of corners". I've used whole house fans with great success in both New England and Hawaii, but it's probably a little too old-fashioned and mundane for a young stylish designer.

    As the media continues to refer to everyone from a football defensive coach to a foreign policy adviser as an architect, the value of what we do is being understood by fewer and fewer people. Rand is right in pointing out how this article is just another example of the continuing erosion of the architectural professional. And this time it's coming from our own AIA magazine! As most of us already realize, the most appropriate refrain is "What's New Pussycat?"



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    John Black AIA
    Partner
    Lapis Design Partners LLC
    Honolulu HI
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  • 8.  RE:Rebuilding Midcentury Houses

    Posted 12-16-2013 02:47 PM
    It's also worth adding to the discussion, I think, that the Eichlers were designed specifically for the California climate. The technical challenges of bringing this up to code, not just for where they were originally intended, but to local code could be very challenging indeed.

    I'm not as opposed to this in theory, but ultimately the challenge of bringing the Eichlers up to date seems complex and challenging enough that it merits the attention and capabilities of a licensed professional, or better yet, a team of professionals including both architects and engineers. As was stated above, bringing the home design into the 21st century necessitates revisiting more than just the R value of the walls and roof and impact resistance of the glazing. The way in which we live has changed in fundamental ways over the course of five decades.

    What I'd really love to see, is a builder / developer with the same vision, integrity, and drive that Eichler had... One with the desire, as Eichler did, to work with a team of talented architects, and bring a higher level of design to the tract-homebuilding market.



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    Russell Long AIA
    Architect
    Rusty Long Architect
    Portsmouth VA
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