The new General Motors Techni- cal Center, which was formally dedicated this spring, is the workshop of GM's research scientists, engineers and artists. But it is much more. The Center's 25 buildings, stretched over a 330-acre site near Detroit, reflect the architectural genius and technical resourcefulness of a small army of planners. When in the six years of construction a new building technique with old materials was needed, it was devised; when a new design seemed nec- essary, it was created; and when a new material was needed, it was fashioned. The direct beneficiary, of course, is GM. But in years to come, the fresh concepts of design and color will find expression in houses across the United States.

Like a family building a new house, GM faced the problem of planning with one eye to-ward the future when natural growth and changing interests would impose new demands on the Technical Center. The solution-movable interior walls and construction with modular units -is as adaptable to a house as it was to the Center. The architects, Eero Saarinen and Associates, established a standard measurement unit-a five- foot module-for all basic building components. The lighting, heating, ventilating, storage, wall and door units all are modular. Partitions can be moved overnight, and exterior wall sections can be replaced with others, either glass or solid, in minutes. What this versatility promises for tomorrow's homes is provocative. The five major buildings, in general form, are variations of the same rectilinear design, but each has its own character. And in every building, from the power plant to the styling studio, the use of color and lighting is distinctive.

Again and again, the Technical Center confirms a vital architectural point: good contemporary design may be put to many uses. Indeed, a number of American archi- tects, including some who helped plan the Center itself, have already incorpo- rated features of the project in houses they have recently designed. In addition to the handsome adaptations shown in these sketches, the Center offers many practical details that may be followed in even the smallest of houses. Through- out the entire project, there is no super- fluous molding or trim. Basic building materials are changed only when there is a perceptible change in the plane of walls. To make floor space seem larger and cleaner, synthetic tile blocks were laid with the pattern running continu- ously from block to block, instead of in the usual checkerboard manner. Heating and cooling systems use the same ducts. All hardware is made of the same metal. These and many other details reflect the infinite planning essential in building a Technical Center- or a fine house.

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source: House and Garden Magazine | June 1956

When people say they like a "functional" house, they most often mean a house engineered simply to give them a complex of labor-saving devices and special conveniences. This, of course, is just one concept of the functional house. Another architectural definition of function is expressed in the small house. that appears here and on the cover of this issue. Its "functional" virtue, to both the archi- tect and owner, is its complete simplicity. Yet with its repeated pattern of circular stonework, it is in addition aesthetically satisfying. It is essentially one big living space, 45' by 20', broken only by a free-standing circular fireplace and a larger circular stone wall, half of which encloses the kitchen and bath. The other half, outside the house, forms an outdoor shower and sun-bathing area. Built on a 24-acre site in Massachusetts' Berkshires, the house overlooks a lake and, in the dis- tance, the grounds of the famous Tanglewood Music Festival. A low stone wall encompassing the house carries out the circular theme and defines front and rear terraces. The long side walls, broken by seven doors, are entirely of glass. The walls at either end, each providing 20' of storage space, are solid. Though the in- terior, except for kitchen and bath, is a single area without partitions, it divides naturally for three uses. There is the living area at one end, centering on the fireplace; the dining area in the middle of the house, opposite the kitchen; and finally, in the remaining third, the sleeping area. The last may be separated from the rest of the house and transformed into two bedrooms by folding partitions. Under the sleeping area are a garage and utility room, accessible from the kitchen by a circular stairway. Devoid of dirt-catching cubbyholes and niches, this year-round house is a model of functionalism in one basic sense; upkeep is largely a matter of dusting the floors once a week.

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source: House and Garden Magazine | May 1956

Many families are discovering that there may be no better place for a weekend house than right on their own property, but the discovery is sometimes made in a gradual way. When, for instance, the Emil Rutz family built a swimming pool some years ago alongside their house in Hillsborough, California, they decided it would be practical to have a little dressing room on the terrace. Nearby, a simple outdoor barbecue pit was added. Finally, after passing through several stages, the dressing room and the barbecue area were fashioned into the pleasant weekend house shown here. It is so well equipped that when the main house was being remodeled, the family moved into the weekend house and lived comfortably for several months.

Actually, it is three houses under one roof: a playhouse for informal dining and entertaining, a guest house of two bedrooms and baths. and a poolhouse where swim- mers may shower and change. For Mrs. Rutz there is a greenhouse along the rear wall and Mr. Rutz has a darkroom. In a beautifully landscaped setting the weekend house enables the Rutz family to enjoy their leisure fully without ever leaving their home.

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source: House and Garden Magazine | April 1956

A wooded background screens this lakeside weekend house in deceptive seclusion. Viewed from the lake, it appears to be miles from civilization, but it is scarcely 80 yards from the main house of its owners, Mr. and Mrs. George Mesberg, in New York's populous Westchester County. The Mesbergs built their main house and this guest house at the same time, and they like to think of them as an entity. But for several reasons they decided to make the guest quarters a separate unit, rather than a wing of the main house. Since the smaller house stands at the very edge of the lake, Mr. Mesberg can fish for bass from the terrace, and the family can swim off the boat dock. The lake view makes the house a pleasant place for entertaining, and adroit planning insures privacy for guests when they wish it. The unusual triangular shape has maxi- mum exposure to the lake setting for each of the three rooms- kitchen, living room and bedroom-without squandering space. The long solid rear wall is economically used for kitchen work units, the bathroom and a large bedroom closet. With its cantilevered sun deck running along two sides of the living room and jutting out over the edge of the lake, the guest house brings the Mesberg family as close to nature as is architecturally possible.

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source: House and Garden Magazine | April 1956

While most larger houses are being built today to accommodate families outgrowing undersized homes. this house has a different reason for being. Simply to give the couple who own it the things they wanted, it had to be big. The owners wanted a house with a separate living room and a formal dining room which would do no double duty whatsoever. They also wanted a front hall, a kitchen. a laundry, a pantry, and a breakfast room with their separate identities respected. The house is traditional in guise, designed with details inspired by American Colonial style. The luxury of many separate rooms gives it individuality and variety, lessens clutter and lets household wheels turn more smoothly than they do in some more openly designed houses. Yet. as in houses of contemporary design, most main rooms open to outdoor areas, a beautifully landscaped rear terrace among them.

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source: House and Garden Magazine | March 1956

Kitchen has connected areas for laundry, bulk storage, cooking and eating. Washer-dryer is beyond sink area. Large freezer, broom closet and case-goods storage are in a walk-in closet behind wall ovens. Pans are kept in two-way cabinets between ovens and sink. The breakfast corner in foreground has a grill built into the counter-top. Sliding glass panels beneath hanging china cabinet permit serving to terrace.

Breakfast corner extends the kitchen counter space and links it to the living and dining rooms. The tiled counter zigzags around the wall, ends beneath two-way storage cabinets and pass-through which serve the dining room. Living room and breakfast corner share a two-way fireplace, pass-through bar and sink. Wood, glasses and liquor are stored by the bar.

Cooking center  is arranged in a wide bay with a triangular island to keep it free from busy traffic. Sink with disposal is next to refrigerator. Counter has a big built-in chopping block.

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source: House and Garden Magazine | February 1956