tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post4673180729975760615..comments2024-03-29T15:04:20.549+11:00Comments on ART and ARCHITECTURE, mainly: Robin Boyd's houses in post-WW2 Australia: small, equitable, world changingHelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02849907428208235392noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-76592162116273458692022-03-30T10:44:22.538+11:002022-03-30T10:44:22.538+11:00Smartvuez
glad you enjoyed the post. But no adver...Smartvuez<br /><br />glad you enjoyed the post. But no advertising please.Helshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02849907428208235392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-13551344722567536832022-03-29T23:52:33.024+11:002022-03-29T23:52:33.024+11:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Smartvuezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13914462408017552092noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-13502940268856740372016-12-11T19:17:06.189+11:002016-12-11T19:17:06.189+11:00Woofwoof
what offends me most about not being abl...Woofwoof<br /><br />what offends me most about not being able to afford to buy a home is that the alternatives are always awful - 1. living with mum and dad for way too long, 2. sharing in crappy bedsits or 3. renting and therefore enriching wealthy land owners. <br /><br />And what makes me particularly livid in Australia is Negative Gearing. This is where an investor intentionally bids up the cost of a house/flat beyond normal market value, borrows money to acquire this income-producing investment property and writes off all his costs and financial losses from his next tax return. <br /><br />Is it going to take another catastrophic war before today's working families are offered low-interest housing loans by the banks and 2] a Small Homes Service or its modern equivalent?Helshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02849907428208235392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-30614870632232094232016-12-11T19:02:36.590+11:002016-12-11T19:02:36.590+11:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.WoofWoofhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14142792485921452481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-16689535881911919972016-12-11T19:01:45.642+11:002016-12-11T19:01:45.642+11:00I think in the UK, the government played a big par...I think in the UK, the government played a big part in getting houses built throughout the 1950s. Since the 1980s there has been a much more laissez-faire attitude with the result that we now have a housing crisis (especially in London) and a whole generation that has to rent (which of course has benefited a new landlord class with second and third homes financed by their tenants). We need a huge drive to build 1-2 million houses (a mixtire of 3 bedroom houses and 2 bedroom flats would be ideal). But the politicians do nothing but talk about the crisis at election time.WoofWoofhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14142792485921452481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-77701996859245531282016-12-11T16:40:22.925+11:002016-12-11T16:40:22.925+11:00Andrew
The homes that suited working families in ...Andrew<br /><br />The homes that suited working families in the late 1940s until the early 1960s would not suit us now. But the principles (of environmental respect, modern technologies etc) remain today. It will be interesting to see if the New Homes Service revives Boyd's legacy into the future.Josephhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07701188167981018244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-24459935414936432122016-12-11T16:27:39.447+11:002016-12-11T16:27:39.447+11:00Parnassus
I have no problem with the original Lev...Parnassus<br /><br />I have no problem with the original Levittowner architecture - it met all the needs of modest, affordable family homes with modern materials and building techniques. The contemporary criticisms of the communities seemed to have been political, sociological and religious, not architectural. <br /><br />For an Australian, it is difficult to understand American politics. I would have wanted every working family and every ex-serviceman to have be able to afford a decent family house.Helsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-41606190616161628132016-12-11T09:15:50.676+11:002016-12-11T09:15:50.676+11:00The style of housing was rather like the family ho...The style of housing was rather like the family home my father built for us in South Oakleigh in the late fifties. It wasn't large but the plan was excellent and it had very clean and simple lines. Sadly we only lived in it for a few years. It's barely recognisable now, with a second storey piled on top. We once looked at buying a very 'Boyd style' house in Box Hill South. With hindsight, I am pleased we didn't. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-28771850823799739462016-12-11T02:42:16.724+11:002016-12-11T02:42:16.724+11:00Hi again, There is a sociological study by Herber...Hi again, There is a sociological study by Herbert Gans called The Levittowners, about the original formation of the Pennsylvania Levittown. The book is mostly about the development of factions controlling schools, politics and religion in the new community. About the houses themselves, or their decor, organization, function, etc., or their effect in forming the community, I recall that he said little or nothing. --JimParnassushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08958901307538141468noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-28822854523868465732016-12-10T23:05:19.766+11:002016-12-10T23:05:19.766+11:00Student
you are spot on. After they left Germany ...Student<br /><br />you are spot on. After they left Germany and then Britain, Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer were the architects of some excellent modern, small houses in post-war USA eg Aluminum City Terrace, New Kensington, Pennsylvania, 1948.<br /><br />I will come back to Breuer's domestic architecture, after he left Europe, in a couple of weeks. Have a great summer! Helshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02849907428208235392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-84586423503281811362016-12-10T22:59:45.706+11:002016-12-10T22:59:45.706+11:00residentjudge
yes indeed. There are perhaps 150 o...residentjudge<br /><br />yes indeed. There are perhaps 150 of Boyd's homes still standing, even though they have been modified a number of times since they were first built in the 1947-53 era. Alas my late parents' home was not saved - the people who destroyed my childhood home also destroyed the beautiful front and back gardens by building right up to the property line :(<br /><br />If you are interested, get in touch with The Robin Boyd Foundation, operating now in Boyd’s own house in Walsh Street South Yarra. The lectures and open days are well worth attending.Helshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02849907428208235392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-56377712200797031192016-12-10T22:49:02.308+11:002016-12-10T22:49:02.308+11:00Dina
No-one wants to sound as if they are an over...Dina<br /><br />No-one wants to sound as if they are an overly precious princess who cannot survive in one big living-dining room, 2 bedrooms, a small but functional kitchen and one bathroom. But I remember that my brother and I easily shared the second bedroom until the third baby arrived. Then it became very squishy. <br /><br />A third bedroom was essential, and at least a second toilet and washbasin.Helshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02849907428208235392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-62248014866763584802016-12-10T22:42:00.669+11:002016-12-10T22:42:00.669+11:00Annie
It is very telling that a Boyd house overlo...Annie<br /><br />It is very telling that a Boyd house overlooking Lake Wendouree would have been thoughtlessly demolished. It tells us either that the locals did not realise the house was a very special and historical design. Or they did indeed know it was a rare Boyd survival, and didn't give a toss.Helshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02849907428208235392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-48043746009463181122016-12-10T22:37:34.254+11:002016-12-10T22:37:34.254+11:00Parnassus
I cannot imagine an American housing de...Parnassus<br /><br />I cannot imagine an American housing development being titled "Small" or "A Workers' Collective", but I do know exactly what you are describing. 10 years ago I remember reading Affordable Housing: Designing an American Asset. This was the first time I had seen the word Levittown, which I thought (in 1947) had been a very appropriate social experiment for the post WW2 world.Helshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02849907428208235392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-20619884174636936952016-12-10T17:47:27.193+11:002016-12-10T17:47:27.193+11:00The grand plan for small homes may not have been u...The grand plan for small homes may not have been unprecedented afterall. I was rereading my old lecture notes on Gropius, Breuer etc.Another Studentnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-76332067987545780392016-12-10T14:41:11.686+11:002016-12-10T14:41:11.686+11:00I didn't realise that there were restrictions ...I didn't realise that there were restrictions on the number of houses that could be built from each plan. That was a good idea- it probably would have been counterproductive to have street after street looking the same. The cheaper post-war Jennings estates tended to be like that (e.g. in West Heidelberg). I must say, though, that I'm not aware of any houses still standing built from the Small Homes Service. Would I recognize them as such today? I guess that they would have been extended- just as your parents planned to do. Is your parents' house still standing/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-30246118477883827962016-12-10T10:48:30.445+11:002016-12-10T10:48:30.445+11:00Love that floor plan. But it is very small for a m...Love that floor plan. But it is very small for a modern family of two working parents and 2-3 children.Dinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-19327280897772650482016-12-10T08:55:22.192+11:002016-12-10T08:55:22.192+11:00another great post. the post WW2 housing shortage ...another great post. the post WW2 housing shortage in Melbourne affected my parents as well. Recently all the wailing by the 'avocado smash'-eating frustrated homeseekers made me think they wouldn't have survived back then. On Copperwitch's blog, cuckoo in the nest R.H. who has no blog of his own says he just got nearly a million dollars for a Newport house he paid 50,000 for years ago, two smashers fighting like cocks over the bids. <br />My dear friend Flissity worked at the Small Homes with Boyd in the 1950's. It was in Collins Street next to Manchester Lane. Pretty, low building.<br />Very recently a Boyd house overlooking Lake Wendouree would have been demolished if some people with heart had not caused a fuss [and given the developer a headache]. His Bake House near Bacchus Marsh can be occupied by B&B terms if one likes to.Ann ODynehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01159263330547329077noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-5420795480745651732016-12-10T07:14:14.220+11:002016-12-10T07:14:14.220+11:00Hello Hels, In the U.S. there was some post-war a...Hello Hels, In the U.S. there was some post-war activity in the kind of small homes built from plans as you describe, but the main force was in developments, the most famous being the huge Levittowns, with thousands of almost identical houses. The area in which I grew up was mostly developed in the 1950's, by smaller companies who worked with a few streets at a time, and with more variety, so the look of mass uniformity was avoided. Still, the houses all tended to be "Colonial" in style, which did give cohesiveness to the neighborhoods. Sometimes you saw ranches or "Cape Cods." The Modern look was rare indeed, but there were a few. The interiors, however, featured modern open floor plans and attached garages.<br /><br />Today, the trend is towards ever larger houses so people are starting to tear down the older ones and replace them with McMansions that unpleasantly crowd the lots and are out of scale with the neighborhood.<br />--JimParnassushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08958901307538141468noreply@blogger.com