Building Diversity

Have you ever looked at a house and wondered what style of architecture it is? Well, if that house is in Orange County, chances are even experts are stumped.

The nature of local architecture, according to David Gebhard, a professor of architectural history at UC Santa Barbara and author of “A Guide to Architecture in Los Angeles and Southern California” (Peregrine Smith, 1977), is plagiarism.

“I mean that in a positive sense. Most of the source of contemporary residential architecture in Southern California derives from the Hispanic or Mediterranean via the 1920s revival,” he said. “It’s pretty lukewarm in terms of historical accuracy; most is incompetent. The builder or architect did not understand the original source, and that has resulted in unfortunate architecture” that was poorly rendered.

Don Jacobs of JBZ Dorius Architecture and Planning in Irvine agrees that residential architecture on a mass scale is not always the best example of pure architectural styles. Even common choices of house color offend the architect.

“It’s dreadful that someone thought pink and peaches were the colors to use,” Jacobs said.

House colors found in Mediterranean regions are much richer than what can be done with modern latex paint.

“There are wonderful pinks and then there are garish, misunderstood pinks,” Gebhard said. “Most of what you find here is very misunderstood.”

When people talk about Orange County residential architecture style, the prevailing attitude is that there is none.

The house-building boom broke ground in the county during the ‘60s and ‘70s, when residential architecture was predominantly reflecting the ranch, split-level or contemporary styles, with bits of detail from earlier architecture traditions thrown in for good measure.

“Basically, since the 1960s, a good percentage of Southern California architecture has been loosely--and more often than not incompetently--based on the Hispanic tradition,” Gebhard said.

Gebhard defines the Hispanic tradition as structures with architectural elements found in Mexico or the Iberian Peninsula. Good examples of the Spanish styles can be found in older sections of Santa Ana and Fullerton.

Why is housing such a mismatched collection of styles?

It goes back to the general misunderstanding of styles to which Gebhard referred. Builders decide they want a certain look without any consideration of exactly what style it is. Then it’s up to the architect to create the house.

“We as architects are as guilty as any,” Jacobs said. “We look at these different styles and what goes into them, and when we picture them, we seldom picture them with a three-car garage out front, which is what the builder wants. Then we tack on the garage and try to make it work, and, of course, that style was not developed with a garage, and so we get these funny compromises.”

Lack of diversity in Orange County housing has added to the corruption of architectural style. “A lot of the sameness comes from the ‘80s, when new housing developments had guidelines that made every house one style in that community,” Jacobs said.

One style that is not all that prevalent in large residential tracts is the Craftsman look developed by architects Greene and Greene around the turn of the century.

“That’s because [the Craftsman look] cannot be copied cheaply,” Jacobs said. “The style uses better materials, and it takes a higher degree of design talent to bring all the elements together to make it work.”

It is unfair to say all new housing tracts are disasters, according to Gebhard. Most contemporary houses are well planned and executed when it comes to floor space. They are just not a pure style.

But Gebhard warns not to take labels too seriously.

“Terms are little playthings in architecture, and one should have fun with them. You cannot use them as general terms the way you would in botany or other sciences,” he added.

Because most houses in the county are not of any one particular architectural discipline, is there any way to look at a house and declare its architectural roots?

“Oh, I think someone with expertise could slice their way through it, deciding on the general form of the house and individual details. It would be a Nancy Drew effort,” Gebhard said.

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Building Diversity

Tudor

A style often seen imitated in custom homes, Tudor typically features a steeply pitched roof. The facade has one or two prominent cross gables, side gables and decorative half-timbering. The tall, narrow windows have many panes, and large chimneys are decorated with chimney pots. The name is historically imprecise because few examples truly mimic the architectural style of the English Tudor period. The style commonly seen more closely resembles medieval English architecture from the 14th Century.

Mission

Popularized from 1890 to 1940, these variants of Spanish Colonial mission buildings have developed into what is called the Mission style. Elements include mission-shaped dormer or roof parapet, commonly with tiled roofs and widely overhanging eaves. Large, square piers support porches, and wall surfaces are usually smooth stucco.

Spanish Eclectic

This style borrows features from Moorish, Byzantine, Gothic and Renaissance as well as Spanish architecture. It was popularized from 1915 to 1940, and in the 1920s entire communities were built using the style. The Panama-California Exposition held in 1915 launched this style from designs by Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue. Dominant features include a low-pitched, red-tile roof usually with little or no eave overhang, and stucco walls. Typically, one or more arches are above the doors or principal window.

Ranch

Originating in California in the mid-1930s, the ranch house became the dominant residential style throughout the U.S. Sprawling, symmetrical one-story shapes with low-pitched roofs were built on large suburban lots. Ranch houses usually have a built-in garage, unlike previous styles that had detached garages, if one at all. Other common details include ribbon windows, large picture windows in the living rooms and shutters.

Split Level

A two-story version of the ranch house, the split-level--built from 1955 to 1975--retains the low-pitched roof and overhanging eaves but adds a second-story box to a first story split into two. Of the three levels, the lower is typically reserved for the garage and family room. Living room, dining room and kitchen are in the middle level, and the upper level is divided into bedrooms.

Researched by MARESA ARCHER / For the Times

Shed

Created in the early 1960s by architects Charles Moore and Robert Venturi, the shed appeared in various forms, but has one distinct feature adopted by other architects: the multidirectional roof. Exterior walls are typically clad with wood shingles, and the entrance usually obscured and recessed. Windows are generally small.

Contemporary

Popularized from the 1940s through the 1980s, these houses are unassuming in architectural detail because the emphasis is on integration into the landscape. Siding is usually of natural products: wood, brick or stone. The style is distinguished by two types, based either on flat or gabled roofs. Both are usually one-story structures, but the gabled version has overhanging eaves, frequently with exposed roof beams.