reating a big impact on a small budget was the directive for architects Johnson & Lee Ltd. The program was to design an affordable single-family house that would be built on 25 sites in the North Kenwood/Oakland area. Their solution provides a modern interpretation of two time-tested traditions in local residential architecture: use of an oversized element on the facade to add grandeur to a modest dwelling, and a design that accommodates future expansion by the owner.
One of the characteristics that lends such dignity to historic Chicago row houses is a disproportionately large feature enhancing a narrow facade. Most often, it was a wide flight of steps leading to a large entry arch or porch. Here, Philip Johnson, AIA grouped standard-size double-hung windows in sets of three and joined them with square windows to create a grand element.
The other notable feature of these homes is a steeply pitched gable roof. This not only brings the small houses into scale with neighboring three-story rowhouses and flats, it provides a storage attic that can be expanded with dormers to gain 300 square feet of living space. The unfinished full basement provides another opportunity for sweat equity. This carries forward the tradition of the Chicago bungalow, whose large basements and expandable upper floors provided a family with room to grow.
