IS 
February, 19 21 
TRANSPLANTING ARCHITECTURE 
To Approximate the Feeling oj an Old-World Home Is the Most Advisable Plan , 
As Witness This Home in the Elizabethan Style 
EDWARD T. LARKINS 
M ANY of us, while visiting the older 
countries of Europe, have been impressed 
upon occasion by the seeming complete¬ 
ness of some of the smaller homes. They seem 
to be so much a living part of the landscape. 
Especially are those who plan to build 
homes here in the States impressed. They 
look upon these old-world cottages and wonder 
what gives them their charm. And then they 
ask why this charm cannot be imparted to 
houses of like character here in America. 
Would such houses make good American 
homes, fulfill our requirements? 
“House” and “Home” 
There is a subtle difference between the 
generally accepted meaning of the word 
‘‘house” and the word “home”. A “home” has 
invariably been the primary factor in a man’s 
desire to build, and yet, as we go about the 
country, how many instances do we find of 
people setting out to achieve a home, who only 
succeed in producing a 
house! This is a distinction 
with very much of a dif¬ 
ference, and in the explana¬ 
tion of it lies the answer to 
those questions one feels 
when he sees old world 
homes. • 
The old homes of Euro¬ 
pean countries were built to 
live in. Generation after 
generation lived in them. 
When the original house 
grew too small it was added 
to. Often the additions 
took the character of the 
contemporary style, quite 
different from the early de¬ 
sign, as one can see in 
countless village homes in 
Kent or Surrey. The age 
of the house is gauged by 
these changes and additions. 
On the other hand, only 
in rare instances do Ameri¬ 
cans build for generations 
to come. The prospective 
builder usually has one eye 
on the real estate market. 
If his family grows too big, he seeks another 
house. When the neighborhood begins to pall, 
he moves to a new one. This constant migra¬ 
tion robs the house of an atmosphere which 
long living gives older European houses. And 
it is also apt to rob it of the atmosphere of 
a home. 
Behind the charm of these old-world houses 
lie many conditions—the geographical con¬ 
dition, which greatly determines the style of 
the architecture, in fact, is the determining fac¬ 
tor; climate and weather vagaries, which react 
upon the design and construction; and the geo¬ 
logical conditions, which provided native ma¬ 
terials and to a large extent influenced the 
development of the local style. Religion and 
social and political influences can also be noted 
in early architecture, although they do not have 
so prominent an influence on the design of 
the house. 
Compared with age in Europe we are a 
young people and our houses, even the oldest, 
are new. The weathering that gives charm to 
The home of Chapin S. Pratt at Bronxville, N. V., is along the lines of a smaller 
Elizabethan country house, executed in stucco and stained clapboarding with the 
occasional relief of half-timber. Bates & How, architects 
old houses on the other side cannot be repro¬ 
duced here without being obviously what it is. 
It is impossible to make a perfect counterfeit 
of Time’s patina. 
Indigenous architecture, native materials, 
time and contentment are the four factors that 
give these old-world homes their interest. Con¬ 
tentment comes with age, and contentment is a 
virtue the American people might well acquire. 
But of the other elements, how can their charm 
be transplanted to the American countryside 
and suburb? How much of it can be trans¬ 
planted and still remain charm? 
Our Borrowed Types 
The Lhiited States occupies a unique po¬ 
sition in that it possesses no local traditions 
or historical associations going much further 
back than a few hundred years. We cannot 
be said to have a native architecture. Nor can 
we ever expect to have a typical American arch¬ 
itecture because of the diversity of climates and 
soils in this vast country. 
Our architecture has, of 
necessity, been borrowed, 
but by reasons of the geo¬ 
graphical and geological 
conditions, it would be ob¬ 
viously wrong even to at¬ 
tempt to make an exact rep¬ 
lica of a home from any 
part of Europe. 
As Mr. Guy Lowell has 
found, only few locations in 
this country really make 
Italian villa architecture 
appear comfortably at home. 
In the same way a Pennsyl¬ 
vania Dutch Colonial farm¬ 
house would look out of 
place in the flat lands of 
Arizona, just as an Arizona 
ranch house would appear 
awkward on a New En¬ 
gland hillside. 
It is the work of the 
architect, after having noted 
the site of the proposed 
house and having taken into 
account the climate of that 
particular part of the coun- 
