Eagle Archives, March 3, 1951: Housing desire cycles are outdated tale to architect Fred Whitham of Pittsfield | History

Cycles of building choices are previous hat to Frederick Whitham, architect for the Berkshire Lumber Firm at 153 Columbus Avenue. For 34 a long time he has watched the development move from sq. properties to Dutch Colonial, to Cape Cods up to the present ranch household.

He has also found some substantial changes in style. He recalls the days, and it was only about 20 years in the past, when insulation was a new gadget. Even the most affordable of dwellings are not without the need of insulation. Mr. Whitham also factors to an additional the latest advancement — the styling of kitchens.

“In the old times,” he reviews, “builders just threw an previous blue sink in the corner of the kitchen area and just about let it go at that. It was the past room of the house to be prepared.”

Right now, he details out, the arranging and equipping of the kitchen is a single of the first issues that a builder thinks about.

Coincidentally with this improvement, Mr. Whitham foresees, or at minimum advocates, the elimination of a dining space in most moderate priced houses. Even though many new houses have been moving in this route, he believes that prospective dwelling-entrepreneurs would be effectively advised to track down their dining house in both the kitchen or a nook. Price ranges are mounting much too substantial to pay for unused room.

Mr. Whitham does not compete with regional architects in his work with Berkshire Lumber, but somewhat rearranges and layouts smaller sized homes. Many of the residences are reasonably priced, so it would not pay out a free of charge-lance architect to take the task, he feels.

Like a lot of of his career, he finds the special tips of some prospective builders a bane. He recollects just one spouse and children who insisted that the eating area be created devoid of any home windows.

Simply because numerous of the men and women who arrive to Berkshire Lumber desire to adjust the ideas below and there, it from time to time transpires, he suggests, “that by the time they get via they spoil the proportions and perhaps the total property.”

When it comes to stair structure, that is wherever most newbie designers tumble down, the architect mentioned. The regular home-proprietor underestimates the room expected in a household, and generally tries to jam the stairwell into much too little a length.

Just one dwelling-operator arrived to him just lately, he chuckles, and requested to have his dwelling intended all over a residing area rug. “It would be more cost-effective to throw the rug absent,” Mr. Whitham feedback.

This Story in Heritage is picked from the archives by Jeannie Maschino, The Berkshire Eagle.