Abstracts Business

Starting with seven suburban houses

by Laura Crystal Dougherty

The suburban house, in its mass produced state of replication, represents a condensation of what we as an American culture want, need and look for in a house. This project dwells in the relationship between the function and representation of these ideas, somewhere in the space between the function and the icon of the pitched roof. Houses are composed of iconic elements, each possessing a functional as well as an effectual quality. These iconic elements are distinct in the suburban house, and through its prevalence, has called into question the need for architecture. This relationship between function and representation and the need for Architecture/Design in the making of a house was explored through the design of three houses on typical suburban lots in typical suburban developments.