Minimal Traditional is a style of architecture that emerged in mid 20th century America as a vernacular form that incorporates influences from earlier styles such as
American Colonial
American colonial architecture includes several building design styles associated with the colonial period of the United States, including First Period English (late-medieval), French Colonial, Spanish Colonial, Dutch Colonial, and Georgian. T ...
,
Colonial Revival,
Spanish Revival,
Tudor Revival, and
American Craftsman
American Craftsman is an American domestic architectural style, inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement, which included interior design, landscape design, applied arts, and decorative arts, beginning in the last years of the 19th century. Its ...
while adhering to
modern architecture's avoidance of ornament.
[
The Minimal Traditional style evolved during the 1930s and was a dominant style in domestic architecture until the ]Ranch-style house
Ranch (also known as American ranch, California ranch, rambler, or rancher) is a domestic architectural style that originated in the United States. The ranch-style house is noted for its long, close-to-the-ground profile, and wide open layout. ...
emerged in the early 1950s.[ Descending in part from the bungalows, ]cottages
A cottage, during Feudalism in England, England's feudal period, was the holding by a cottager (known as a Cotter (farmer), cotter or ''bordar'') of a small house with enough garden to feed a family and in return for the cottage, the cottager ...
, and foursquare houses of the early 20th century, Minimal Traditional houses represent a "stripped-down version of the historic-eclectic styles popular in the 1920s".[ They are usually detached single-family houses that are on the smaller side and retain simplified versions of the built-in cabinets that were popular features of the Craftsman era.][ Typical features include hipped or gabled roofs without much in the way of eaves; cladding in locally popular materials such as wood, brick or stone; small porches; and an asymmetrical design with the front door set off center.][
The Minimal Traditional house "fulfilled aesthetic and social needs for affordable single-family housing" and was used by the Federal Housing Administration as a prototype for a "minimum house that the majority of American wage earners could afford".][
Minimal Traditional houses have been tagged with some other names: FHA house, Depression-era cottage, Victory cottage, and American small house.][
File:Dodds Street West 708, McDoel Gardens.jpg, Bloomington, Indiana, house built in 1931 in the Minimal Traditional style.
File:1722-n-hills-knoxville-tn1.jpg, Knoxville, Tennessee, house built in 1932 in the Minimal Traditional style.
File:1629-n-hills-knoxville-tn1.jpg, Knoxville, Tennessee, house built in 1939 in the Minimal Traditional style.
File:Fourth Street, 701, Steele Dunning.jpg, Bloomington, Indiana, house built in 1940 in the Minimal Traditional style.
File:4230 Shamley Green Drive, exterior views, 2020 - DPLA - 2f47ba38bd4560fe28bcc14844d71492 (page 2).jpg, Toledo, Ohio, house built in 1961 in the Minimal Traditional style.
]
See also
* Traditionalist School (architecture)
References
{{Reflist , refs=
[{{usurped, ]
"American Small House"
}. Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Historic Preservation Division. (Slideshow/PDF.)
[Gibbs, Jocelyn, et al., eds. ''Outside In: The Architecture of Smith and Williams''. p. 174.]
[Baker, John Milnes. ''American House Styles: A Concise Guide''.]
Antique Home website.