Typical Single Family Home Construction in Americas Regions

Typical single family home construction in Americas 5 regions
Your Name
October 12, 2016
Your Institution of Affiliation
Introduction
Plenty of historical information can be gained through an assessment of physical artifacts throughout the world. Pieces of evidence such as tools, relics, and even architecture reflect the characteristics of the social circumstances and realities in a particular period of time. In greater detail, this reflection can be seen in the design, structure, and the details of these artifacts. Examples of these artifacts are monumental structures like the Taj Mahal, Pyramids of Giza, Statue of Liberty, etc., which serve as testaments of the existing culture during the times when they were made, more particularly, the grandeur and power of those who commissioned it. However, this “duality” between the structure’s design and that is reflected can is not only limited to ‘great works’. In architecture, even the design of simple houses can serve as the testament towards the needs, traditions, and social circumstances that exist by the time when it was made. Following from this idea, the author of this paper employed a comparative analysis between house design (and/or structure) in different regions of America – namely West, Southwest, Midwest, Northeast, and Southeast – vis-à-vis two specific time periods – (1) “late 1800s to 1950s” and (2) the present day. Via this comparison, the author believes that the prevailing designs of the houses in each region and the transition that they went through would shed some light about the temporal transition of social realities in different regions of America.
West America
For the Western regions, the author of this paper picked Nevada as to characterize the 1800s to 1990s housing, settlement, and industry. According to Angie Wagner, during the 1800s and the 1900s, Nevada was populated by only a small number of workers who toiled the numerous mines in the place. During those times the population numbered from about 30,000 to 40,000 only as compared to the 2.8 million as of today. Before, when the mining industry dominated the region, there were only sparse patches of residential areas near the mining field. Today, majority of the land is already devoted towards more capitalist enterprises such as casinos, hotels, resorts, etc. and the price to get a piece of land in the place reach millions of dollars (especially in the city centers). Furthermore, the author said that in Henderson, “50,000 mines” are now abandoned and filled in order to convert them to subdivisions. However, this is not only for commercial hosuing preojects since the suburbs are now being filled with condominiums and tall apartments in replacement for single family homes. Coming from this, it is apparent how changes in the economic and social circumstances (from the 1800s to today) can be reflected in the shift in structural design and development project of a region.[Wagner, A. (1999, Dec 17). GROWTH SPURS NEVADA TO FILL IN MINES. Seattle Times Retrieved from https://lopes.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/383452291?accountid=7374]
South West America
According to Golab (2013), “not only do the structure, design, and layout of the model home formulate cultural identity but also the furnishings and materials within. Together, the model home and carefully selected artifacts placed therein help to express specifically chosen lifestyles as that the home builder determines”. In his study, he analyzed the type of infrastructures and the marketing strategy employed by “home builder” in order to create the essence of home in Phoenix, Arizona in the years 1955-1956. In the study, it can be seen that the typical idea of the “perfect home” is one surrounded with “convenience, added luxury, and indoor-outdoor living”. In contrasts with the previous periods in time, the previous mindset of “single-family consumers” haven’t changed that much. According to the article Single-Family Home Starts Up Slightly, Rising to 2007 Levels, “Single-family starts rose 12.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 782,000 units after an upwardly revised June reading while multifamily production fell 17% to 424,000 units”.[Golab, Coreen R. "“Using Design to Make the Home Whole”: Meaning and the Model Home-Arizona in the 1950s." PhD diss., Arizona State University, 2013.] [(Golab 2013)] [2015. "Single-Family Home Starts Up Slightly, Rising to 2007 Levels." Energy Design Update 35, no. 9: 8-9. Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed October 12, 2016).]
Midwest America
For the mid-western regions of America, the author picked Cleveland as the main case that explains in great detail the shift in the designs of single-family homes due to specific social changes. According to Smith, Robert L. and Dealer Reporters Plain, most of the Mid-western states have experienced an enormous growth in the number of housing units needed (and economic growth) during the 1900s. More particularly, they said that this is because of the huge migratory pattern pouring in from Asia and Latin America towards America, because of this growth and the cultur...