Structure Type: built works - dwellings - houses

Designers: Campbell and Wong and Associates (firm); John Carden Campbell (designer); Worley K. Wong (architect)

Dates: constructed 1959

1 story, total floor area: 891 sq. ft.

Overview

In its bi-nuclear design, the house followed prewar design ideas popularized by Bay Area architects William W. Wurster and Gardner Dailey, as well as post-war designs by Eichler Homes, Incorporated. This house's plan was notable for its inclusion of a "living kitchen," a combined kitchen/family room, a room type that would become much more common 50 years later.

Building History

The magazine Woman's Day commissioned four architectural firms across the US to design "4 Good Houses for $10,000 or Less" in 1959. The firms included Campbell and Wong of San Francisco, Rufus Nims of Miami, FL, Robert A. Little and George E. Dalton and Associates, Cleveland, OH, and Burton Ashford Bugbee, of New York, NY.

Of Campbell and Wong's design, the magazine wrote: "John Carden Campbell and Worley K. Wong have given this house a real living kitchen which includes all of the comforts of a family room. The 12'-by-19'9" combination room has lots of glass, a view of the back play court, a fireplace and plenty of space for family dining and parties. The plan permits a small but cozy and quiet living room for parents. When the third bedroom is added, parents will have even further privacy because it is built at the rear of the garage, in close relationship to the adult part of the house. The house is divided into two wings, one for living, one for sleeping. They are connected by an entrance hall and a play court, and from the entrance hall there is direct access to every room. Exterior walls of the house are textured plywood; interior finish, dry wall panels; floor, concrete. (See "$ Good Houses for $10,000 of Less: House with a Living Kitchen for $9,000," Woman's Day, vol 22, no. 9, 06/1959, p. 25.)

Building Notes

Unbuilt.

PCAD id: 8230