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All across the country,
in small towns, large cities, villages and hamlets, you will
find remarkably beautiful traditional neighborhoods. These collections
of houses were designed and grouped together to create a series
of neighborhood streets and spaces of remarkable charm and character.
Although we admire the variety and individuality of these houses,
we are most struck by the way in which each individual house
and public building relates to its neighbors and the consistently
high design standards followed by all. There is never a discordant
or incorrect house.
How was
such a sophisticated level of design maintained for nearly 150
years? There were certainly not enough architects to design
each of the houses. Architects did, however, contribute designs
and principles to the building industry in a series of builders'
handbooks known as Pattern Books. These books contained the
principles and key details for a variety of architectural styles.
They were the direct descendants of the books since Roman times,
the means with which architects have passed along their knowledge
of design to builders in remote places. From Vitruvius, to Palladio,
to Asher Benjamin to the American Vignola, architects provided
helpful guides for the building industry.
In the second
half of the nineteenth century, Pattern Books became part of
builders' marketing programs. These attractively designed books
were easy to understand. Their pages combined realistic drawings
of houses along with floor plans and important details. There
were many choices of floor plans and arrangements of architectural
elements, but all using the details and proportions of the style.
Pattern
Books set the rules, but each builder found ways of interpreting
them, elaborating on them, or even bending them. The result
is a balance between individual expression and unity found in
traditional neighborhoods. The patterns and elements of style
were expressed differently in each region and often elements
were "cross-bred" across different styles. They represented
a consensus among architects, builders, realtors, and home buyers
on the way to design houses and communities.
At UDA,
we believe that by reviving the pattern book tradition we can
restore a consensus that once existed and to continue building
timeless places of lasting value. |
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