Question

Was the bungalow craze promoted mostly by radical or conservative motives? Did the bungalow hold out the promise of revamping domestic life completely, or of solving social problems without drastic change?

Answer 1

The Bungalow craze in the United States in the 20th. Century was a result of the Progressive or radical movement in the arts and design that rose in response to the spread of factories from the Industrial Age which had led to loss of independence and inequitably increased the masculine representations in the service sector in the urban midddle class population. The progressive or radical thinkers and practitioners grew more anxious and disturbed with the way the mechanised built environment of the cities were robbing people of the creativity and pleasure of work situations. The simpler home designs of the Bungalow model were seen to solve social issues of the time.

The bungalow design sought to expand the middle class from its mere identity as a salaried class with a loosing economic and moral independence, and make it into a powerful menas of transformation in the American society. The bungalow design was associated with replacing mechanised, ‘carbon-copy’ projects with creative manual work. It influenced a major shift in gender roles creating greater career opportunities for women using greater housekeeping techniques in the architecture.

As Americans became more invested with the notions of health and purchasing power, the bungalows took America by storm. The bungalow fulfilled the promise of a marked economic independence by giving the ordinary service sector family the power to own a plot of land with serious architectural features, a rare feature which was till previously was exclusive to the rich. The simplicity of the design combined with style and convenience led to a radical transformation of the urban spaces as it came to embody an ideal for the majority of American families.