A Fireproof House for $5000
Encyclopedia
"A Fireproof House for $5000" was an article and house design by Frank Lloyd Wright
which was published in the Ladies' Home Journal
in April 1907. This was Wright's third and final publication in the journal following "A Home in a Prairie Town" and "A Small House with 'Lots of Room in It'" from February and July 1901, respectively. The drawings for the house were also included in Wright's 1910 Wasmuth Portfolio
(Plate XIV).
was also experimenting with designs for mass-produced houses of as part of the Edison Portland Cement Company
. The notion of concrete houses was further popularized in several books by the Atlas Portland Cement Company. The appeal of concrete dwellings was not only the resistance to fire, but also to insects, moisture, and the effects of weather. The walls, floors, roof, and chimney of Wright's design were to be constructed of reinforced concrete
or as Wright stated: "a masonry monolith...interlaced with steel fibres". Interior partitions were specified as plaster
over either metal lath or three-inch clay tile blocks. Unlike the house shell, the interiors were to have been outfitted with more combustible wood millwork
, casework
, and flooring.
As the title of the article suggested, Wright intended the house to be relatively inexpensive. He determined 5000 US dollars to be the best balance between low cost and quality, low-maintenance construction. However, at a time when the average American salary was less than $700 a year and Gustav Stickley
was advertising houses in The Craftsman
that could be built for as little as $2000 to $4000, Wright's design was still only affordable for middle-class households. Nevertheless, economy was one of the key considerations in conceiving the plans. Cost cutting features included a compact, two-story floor plan which measured 30 feet (9.1 m) square plus a narrow entry and stairway extension. The four sides were also designed identically, so that a single set of concrete forms
could have been used — only minor modifications would have been required to accommodate the stairwell. Interior spaces were pared down as much as possible by eliminating the back stairwell, butler's pantry
, and food pantry, by limiting circulation space on both levels, and by combining all public spaces into a single, combined living room and dining room. In typical style, Wright also did away with the attic, however defied his own doctrine by giving the dwelling a full basement storeroom.
In addition to durability and expense, Wright incorporated such factors as thermal comfort
into the design. First, he indicated that concrete construction would keep the house cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. Concrete walls have greater thermal mass
than walls of wood, and thereby lessen temperature fluctuations during the day and throughout the year. Furthermore, the roof overhang would have reduced overheating by shading part of the walls in summer. A third feature was perhaps the most innovative: Wright specified that the ceilings for the second floor rooms be installed eight inches below the roof slab. The resulting air space was to be fed by vents beneath the eaves and exhausted through the chimney to create a constant stream of moving air. Modern homes often use a similar soffit and ridge vent
combination to keep the attic and the floor below cooler. Yet, at the time of publication, most wood houses lacked attic ventilation because buildings were not constructed as tightly as those built in recent years. The monolithic construction of the Fireproof House would have prevented most natural air infiltration, making the ventilated air space a necessity.
The layout of the Fireproof House is a response to the American Foursquare
, a format of house which was popular across the United States in the early 1900s. The Foursquare and Fireproof House shared the common cause for simpler, more economical design. The typical American Foursquare was a simple two-story box divided into four equal quadrants per floor. On the main level, the entrance hall and living room occupied the front corners, while a dining room and kitchen split the back of the house. Three or four bedrooms and a bathroom fit into each quadrant of the upstairs. Wright modified this basic plan by shifting the stairs and entrance to a less prominent location at the side of the house, allowing the living room an entire half of the first floor. The wall between the dining room and living room was removed to create an L-shaped great room (see floor plans at right).
Wright was never commissioned to construct the Fireproof House exactly as it had appeared in the Ladies' Home Journal, but several variations of the design were built in the following years. Most of the houses were erected with stucco
covered wood-framed
walls, and so were not "fireproof" in any way.
(1903) in Madison, Wisconsin
, followed by the Charles A. Brown House (1905) in Evanston, Illinois
.
In 1909, Wright designed three compact houses for an unexecuted subdivision for Edward C. Waller with floor plans that resemble the Fireproof House and Ravine Bluff rental properties. These houses also appeared in the Wasmuth Porfolio on Plate XLVIII. He also reused the basic Foursquare layout for at least three models of his later American System-Built Homes.
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
which was published in the Ladies' Home Journal
Ladies' Home Journal
Ladies' Home Journal is an American magazine which first appeared on February 16, 1883, and eventually became one of the leading women's magazines of the 20th century in the United States...
in April 1907. This was Wright's third and final publication in the journal following "A Home in a Prairie Town" and "A Small House with 'Lots of Room in It'" from February and July 1901, respectively. The drawings for the house were also included in Wright's 1910 Wasmuth Portfolio
Wasmuth Portfolio
The Wasmuth portfolio is a two-volume folio of 100 lithographs of the work of the American architect Frank Lloyd Wright .Titled Ausgeführte Bauten und Entwürfe von Frank Lloyd Wright, it was published in Germany in 1910 by the Berlin publisher Ernst Wasmuth, with an accompanying monograph by Wright...
(Plate XIV).
Design
Frank Lloyd Wright was not the only voice advocating for fireproof homes in the early twentieth century; from 1902 to 1908, Thomas EdisonThomas Edison
Thomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. In addition, he created the world’s first industrial...
was also experimenting with designs for mass-produced houses of as part of the Edison Portland Cement Company
Edison Portland Cement Company
The Edison Portland Cement Company was a venture by Thomas Edison that helped to improve the Portland cement industry. Edison was developing an iron ore milling process and discovered a market in the sale of waste sand to cement manufacturers...
. The notion of concrete houses was further popularized in several books by the Atlas Portland Cement Company. The appeal of concrete dwellings was not only the resistance to fire, but also to insects, moisture, and the effects of weather. The walls, floors, roof, and chimney of Wright's design were to be constructed of reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete is concrete in which reinforcement bars , reinforcement grids, plates or fibers have been incorporated to strengthen the concrete in tension. It was invented by French gardener Joseph Monier in 1849 and patented in 1867. The term Ferro Concrete refers only to concrete that is...
or as Wright stated: "a masonry monolith...interlaced with steel fibres". Interior partitions were specified as plaster
Plaster
Plaster is a building material used for coating walls and ceilings. Plaster starts as a dry powder similar to mortar or cement and like those materials it is mixed with water to form a paste which liberates heat and then hardens. Unlike mortar and cement, plaster remains quite soft after setting,...
over either metal lath or three-inch clay tile blocks. Unlike the house shell, the interiors were to have been outfitted with more combustible wood millwork
Millwork
Millwork is any woodmill-produced building construction interior finish components such as doors, window casing, baseboard, mantels, and crown molding....
, casework
Casework
-Standards:Casework is a term used to describe commercial grade cabinets. These cabinets differ from residential kitchen cabinets by their materials. Casework is made of plastic laminate or melamine. Institutional casework is specified in the health care and educational industries. Casework is not...
, and flooring.
As the title of the article suggested, Wright intended the house to be relatively inexpensive. He determined 5000 US dollars to be the best balance between low cost and quality, low-maintenance construction. However, at a time when the average American salary was less than $700 a year and Gustav Stickley
Gustav Stickley
Gustav Stickley was a manufacturer of furniture and the leading proselytizer for the American Arts and Crafts movement, an extension of the British Arts and Crafts movement.-Biography:...
was advertising houses in The Craftsman
The Craftsman
The Craftsman was a magazine founded by Gustav Stickley in 1901 which carried house designs that created the American Craftsman architectural style....
that could be built for as little as $2000 to $4000, Wright's design was still only affordable for middle-class households. Nevertheless, economy was one of the key considerations in conceiving the plans. Cost cutting features included a compact, two-story floor plan which measured 30 feet (9.1 m) square plus a narrow entry and stairway extension. The four sides were also designed identically, so that a single set of concrete forms
Formwork
Formwork is the term given to either temporary or permanent molds into which concrete or similar materials are poured. In the context of concrete construction, the falsework supports the shuttering moulds.-Formwork and concrete form types:...
could have been used — only minor modifications would have been required to accommodate the stairwell. Interior spaces were pared down as much as possible by eliminating the back stairwell, butler's pantry
Pantry
A pantry is a room where food, provisions or dishes are stored and served in an ancillary capacity to the kitchen. The derivation of the word is from the same source as the Old French term paneterie; that is from pain, the French form of the Latin panis for bread.In a late medieval hall, there were...
, and food pantry, by limiting circulation space on both levels, and by combining all public spaces into a single, combined living room and dining room. In typical style, Wright also did away with the attic, however defied his own doctrine by giving the dwelling a full basement storeroom.
In addition to durability and expense, Wright incorporated such factors as thermal comfort
Thermal comfort
Thermal comfort is a term used by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, an international body. It is defined as the state of mind in humans that expresses satisfaction with the surrounding environment...
into the design. First, he indicated that concrete construction would keep the house cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. Concrete walls have greater thermal mass
Thermal mass
Thermal mass is a concept in building design which describes how the mass of the building provides "inertia" against temperature fluctuations, sometimes known as the thermal flywheel effect...
than walls of wood, and thereby lessen temperature fluctuations during the day and throughout the year. Furthermore, the roof overhang would have reduced overheating by shading part of the walls in summer. A third feature was perhaps the most innovative: Wright specified that the ceilings for the second floor rooms be installed eight inches below the roof slab. The resulting air space was to be fed by vents beneath the eaves and exhausted through the chimney to create a constant stream of moving air. Modern homes often use a similar soffit and ridge vent
Ridge vent
A ridge vent is a type of vent installed at the peak of a sloped roof which allows warm, humid air to escape a building's attic. Ridge vents are most common on shingled residential buildings.-External links:***** from HGTV* *****...
combination to keep the attic and the floor below cooler. Yet, at the time of publication, most wood houses lacked attic ventilation because buildings were not constructed as tightly as those built in recent years. The monolithic construction of the Fireproof House would have prevented most natural air infiltration, making the ventilated air space a necessity.
The layout of the Fireproof House is a response to the American Foursquare
American Foursquare
The American Foursquare or American Four Square is an American house style popular from the mid-1890s to the late 1930s. A reaction to the ornate and mass produced elements of the Victorian and other Revival styles popular throughout the last half of the 19th century, the American Foursquare was...
, a format of house which was popular across the United States in the early 1900s. The Foursquare and Fireproof House shared the common cause for simpler, more economical design. The typical American Foursquare was a simple two-story box divided into four equal quadrants per floor. On the main level, the entrance hall and living room occupied the front corners, while a dining room and kitchen split the back of the house. Three or four bedrooms and a bathroom fit into each quadrant of the upstairs. Wright modified this basic plan by shifting the stairs and entrance to a less prominent location at the side of the house, allowing the living room an entire half of the first floor. The wall between the dining room and living room was removed to create an L-shaped great room (see floor plans at right).
By Frank Lloyd Wright
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
covered wood-framed
Framing (construction)
Framing, in construction known as light-frame construction, is a building technique based around structural members, usually called studs, which provide a stable frame to which interior and exterior wall coverings are attached, and covered by a roof comprising horizontal ceiling joists and sloping...
walls, and so were not "fireproof" in any way.
- Tan-Y-Deri (Andrew T. Porter House), Spring Green, WisconsinSpring Green, WisconsinSpring Green is a village in Sauk County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,444 at the 2000 census. The village is located within the Town of Spring Green.-Geography:Spring Green is located at ....
, 1907 - Stephen M. B. Hunt House I, La Grange, IllinoisLa Grange, IllinoisLa Grange, a suburb of Chicago, is a village in Cook County, in the U.S. state of Illinois. The population was 15,608 at the 2000 census.-History:...
, 1907 - Dr. G.C. Stockman HouseDr. G.C. Stockman HouseThe Dr. G.C. Stockman House, also known as Mrs. Evangeline Skarlis House, was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and built in 1908 for Dr. George C. and Eleanor Stockman in Mason City, Iowa. The home was originally located at 311 1st St. SE, but was moved to 530 1st St. NE to evade demolition...
, Mason City, IowaMason City, IowaMason City is the county seat of Cerro Gordo County, Iowa, United States. The population was 28,079 in the 2010 census, a decline from 29,172 in the 2000 census. The Mason City Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Cerro Gordo and Worth counties....
, 1908 - Raymond W. Evans House, Chicago, Illinois, 1908
- Rev. Jesse R. Zeigler House, Frankfort, KentuckyFrankfort, KentuckyFrankfort is a city in Kentucky that serves as the state capital and the county seat of Franklin County. The population was 27,741 at the 2000 census; by population it is the 5th smallest state capital in the United States...
, 1909–10 - Edmund F. Brigham House, Glencoe, IllinoisGlencoe, IllinoisGlencoe is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2010 census, the village population was 8,723. Glencoe is located on suburban Chicago's North Shore. Glencoe is located within the New Trier High School District. Glencoe is regarded as one of the most affluent suburbs on...
, 1915. The only Fireproof House for $5,000 — and only Prairie house — actually made out of fire resistant concrete - The 5 Ravine Bluffs DevelopmentRavine Bluffs DevelopmentThe Ravine Bluffs Development was commissioned in 1915 by Frank Lloyd Wright's attorney, Sherman Booth Jr.. It is located in Glencoe, Illinois. Six houses, three poured concrete sculptures, and one bridge were built. Five of the houses were for rent when built. All 5 rental houses share the same...
rentals, Glencoe, Illinois, 1915
Variations by other architects
- P.F. Travers House, Mamaroneck, New YorkMamaroneck (village), New YorkMamaroneck is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 18,929 at the 2010 census. It is located partially within the town of Mamaroneck and partially within the town of Rye. The portion in Rye is unofficially called "Rye Neck"...
, 1907; architect: C.C. Crosley - Gocke-Vance House, Overland, MissouriOverland, MissouriOverland is a city in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. The population was 16,062 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Overland is located at ....
, 1910; architect: Lawrence Ewald - Arthur Rule House (Blythe-Rule House), Mason City, IowaMason City, IowaMason City is the county seat of Cerro Gordo County, Iowa, United States. The population was 28,079 in the 2010 census, a decline from 29,172 in the 2000 census. The Mason City Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Cerro Gordo and Worth counties....
, 1912–13; architect: Walter Burley GriffinWalter Burley GriffinWalter Burley Griffin was an American architect and landscape architect, who is best known for his role in designing Canberra, Australia's capital city... - J.G. Melson House, Mason City, IowaMason City, IowaMason City is the county seat of Cerro Gordo County, Iowa, United States. The population was 28,079 in the 2010 census, a decline from 29,172 in the 2000 census. The Mason City Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Cerro Gordo and Worth counties....
, 1914; architect: Walter Burley GriffinWalter Burley GriffinWalter Burley Griffin was an American architect and landscape architect, who is best known for his role in designing Canberra, Australia's capital city...
Related designs
Prior to publishing "A Fireproof House", Wright designed and constructed two houses with very similar floor plans. The first was the Robert M. Lamp HouseRobert M. Lamp House
The Robert M. Lamp House is a residence at 22 N. Butler Street in Madison, Wisconsin, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for "Robie" Lamp , a realtor, insurance agent, and Madison City Treasurer. Lamp resided here with his parents and an aunt until their passing, and later with his wife and stepson...
(1903) in Madison, Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
, followed by the Charles A. Brown House (1905) in Evanston, Illinois
Evanston, Illinois
Evanston is a suburban municipality in Cook County, Illinois 12 miles north of downtown Chicago, bordering Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, and Wilmette to the north, with an estimated population of 74,360 as of 2003. It is one of the North Shore communities that adjoin Lake Michigan...
.
In 1909, Wright designed three compact houses for an unexecuted subdivision for Edward C. Waller with floor plans that resemble the Fireproof House and Ravine Bluff rental properties. These houses also appeared in the Wasmuth Porfolio on Plate XLVIII. He also reused the basic Foursquare layout for at least three models of his later American System-Built Homes.
External links
- "A Fireproof House for $5000": full text and images from the original article.