Suburban house studies

Abstract

This thesis looks at contemporary American detached single-family suburban dwellings. It does so from a historical/typological viewpoint (descriptive) and from a design viewpoint as well (prescriptive). Diagnostic analysis of over 50 spec/tract house plans provided evidence that many of the plans, while functionally efficient, were lacking in territorial definition, flexibility of use, and intimacy of environment. The research of the thesis attempts to locate these shortcomings and, in an investigation of the house through its constituent parts, redesign the detached single-family suburban 'ranch' house.