ArchitectureThe Standard, Simple Bungalow
by Matt Duke
I had to cut my house off there. I wasn’t sure where this was going.
Let’s talk history. Back before it was where we got our local Orlando
news, the bungalow was designed by the British in mid-19th-century
India. It is intended to be simplistic, natural, and fitting of its warm
environment. It wasn’t until the early 20th century that “kit” homes
started showing up. We give most credit to the Sears & Roebuck Company, but it was the Aladdin Company of Bay City,
Michigan that started offer“I’m tired. My shingles are shriving full kits, right down to
eled up. Are we expecting much
the nails. Local contractors
rain? If only I could jerk my head
were then hired to put the
in a little more. Perhaps all these
whole thing together. This
cracks in my stucco will lower the
spread through the country
wind resistance so I won’t have to
fight as hard. That would be nice. For years they called me promiscu- like wildfire. The thought had to be, why build custom when you can
ous; I called them renters. They said it would weigh on my structure, mass-produce for the average consumer?
but I consider it character building. Long before the ropes were cut on
my double hung windows, before I was practically painted shut, I could Today, bungalows are not considered standard or basic. They have behave invited the wind in. I can almost feel it breezing over my thick come great examples of customization and, due to their age, generally
plaster walls and up through my prominent and open fireplace, blowing reside on tree-lined streets in established parts of town. A far cry from
years of cobwebs out of my strong brick chimney. I suppose if the storm from where they began.
gets rough enough, the cemetery is close by; we could rest there.”
Fall—the air is a little bit lighter than it has been. Should we thank
Hurricane Matthew for the change of season? It’s as if it spun by and
popped the bubble of heat and moisture that had been weighing us
down. As we quickly recover from the storm, I thought it would be a
good opportunity to write about architecture from the point of view of
my 1926 bungalow facing the threat of a hurricane. I imagine it would
go something like this:
...why build custom when you
can mass-produce for the
average consumer?
photo by Matt Duke
Orlando’s Art Scene, v. 1.5
8