Terraced & Semi-Detached Housing
History of the Terrace
The terraced house is one of the oldest forms of residential dwellings, and can be traced back some 3000 years to ancient Egypt and Greece. However, they did not appear in England until 18th century where examples of which can be seen in Bath. The same can be said for semi-detached dwellings which appeared in the 19th century in the garden city movement.
Overtime the terrace was adapted to the social and economic conditions; a particular example is the industrial revolution resulting in new social structures. Living conditions got worse for workers due to the need for labour and the mass migration of people to the cities. In response to this, industrial employers formed developments that were precursors to garden cities, a combination of the advantages of county and urban living.
In the 1920s a new planning model was introduced changing urban living to incorporate new lifestyles and standards through the use of well lit spaces with cross-ventilation. Prominent architects such as Le Corbusier and Mies Van Der Rohe grasped the concept of terraced housing and optimised floor plans to adapt to the masses and how they would use the buildings. This, however, was fairly short-lived as the post WW2 housing shortfall resulted in the construction of mass produced monotonous neighbourhoods which did little to inspire communities. In 1950s & 1960s Scandinavian developments gave terraced housing a new lease of life. An example of this is Arne Jacobsen's Søholm development which is a lively ensemble of buildings staggered so that a pattern of open spaces was formed, despite the high density.
Typologies
For many people their ideal home will be a detached house, however they may lack the financial means to achieve this dream. Urban constrained also mean that this type of house is not always able to be built in some locations. Therefore, semi-detached and terraced houses are viable alternatives to the 'ideal home'. As well as costing less to construct and buy, they are also able to be adapted to a series of different contexts.
In particular, semi-detached houses are seen to be a compromise to single family dwellings; they are of a similar size, cheaper and in comparison to detached dwellings do not lose much outdoor space. However, one of the main disadvantages is to do with the relationship to the next door neighbour, which may also result in compromises with the initial designs. Terraced houses, despite being smaller and narrower, are sometimes seen more positively than semi-detached houses. The smaller plots are cheaper and result in energy, materials and land being utilised more efficiently. The design of terraces also tends to be more architectural with regards to providing architectural solutions for issues such as access to natural light and the layout of space.
References:
Schnittch, C (e.d) (2006) Semi-detached and Terraced Houses. Basel, Birkhauser