The development of communities is a long and complicated process. Architects need to design buildings and entire districts to make them both practical and attractive at the same time, and the 20th century is characterized by outstanding architectural solutions. In this essay, the growth and development of suburbs will be discussed in detail. Specific tendencies and examples of architectural plans will be analyzed, together with the factors that influenced the design of communities.
It is important to understand that the image of suburbs was often influenced by the changes in economics, technologies, and other spheres of life. The early suburban architecture in the 1930s included solutions for the developing automobile industry. Then, after the stock market crash in the middle of the 1930s, the need for change and the development of technology led to new designs. Historical events, like the Second World War, also affected the tendencies of suburban growth. For example, post-war houses and apartments were simpler in design and cheaper as they were built for military men coming home. In the second part of the century, when the economics of the country was restored, and the problem of congestion was solved, buildings became higher and received a more complicated design. Today, the buildings and districts like Gordon Matta-Clark’s Splitting and Lincoln Center are the unique architectural objects.
The growth of the automobile industry was a significant factor that influenced suburban development. Cars became more accessible for regular use at the beginning of the 1930s, and the first ideas about car storages appeared. For example, Clarence Stein and Henry Wright took positive dynamics in the automobile sector into account and were first to consider building roads and garages for cars. They designed connections to the metropolitan hubs through the automobile facilities.
Frank Lloyd Wright also paid attention to automobile-oriented design in response to technological development. However, in some communities, buildings were not supposed to have spaces for cars; for example, Carl Mackley houses designed by Oscar Storonov and Alfred Kastner were not big enough. Garages were developed later, especially after the Second World War, when the country returned to its previous economic condition. The issue of congestion also needed a solution; when it emerged, Robert Moses designed parkways. In the post-war period, the construction of wide highways was especially active and allowed to solve the congestion problem.
In order to see how architects followed modern tendencies, it would be appropriate to analyze certain examples of architectural solutions. Clarence Stein and Henry Wright were the architects praised for their Radburn concept in NJ, in 1929. They designed the community in a well-planned way with easy access to houses. They gave privilege to the automobiles and created paths connected to parks. These very American domestic houses with pitched roofs represented a stable community.
Another example of an effective construction was Levittown, designed by Willian J. Levitt in 1946-1951. The architect created single-family houses with a simple interior for domestic life. The design encouraged the interaction of neighboring residents; the houses were targeting growing families. The living room was adjacent to the kitchen, and the attic was untouched, which would allow to modify it as a bedroom in the future. The significant feature of the district was that the workers were assigned specific jobs. Later, the houses of Levittown became a symbol of the post-war community.
In conclusion, changing the community image is a challenging task since architects need to consider many issues in their design. The development of technologies and the automobile industry were the key aspects that influenced architectural style and even the costs of houses. It would be fair to say that the Second World War also significantly influenced suburban areas. Some of the solutions were successful and effective; some of them were not. However, all these changes played an important role in shaping the images of communities.