Would you believe...

[ritaxis]

If I approximated this type of house in the Sims, which I could do by deploying all sorts of objects made for other purposes, the observer would be easily forgiven for thinking I was just being silly. I'm going to describe it before linking the pictures, because I want you to take a moment to try to picture it from my description before you look at

Comments

[randwolf]

I suspect the arch-like forms are working more like wooden frames, rather than true arches. I wonder why the practice was to pull the enclosure wall back from the building frame?

[ritaxis]

The articles say it's to move the weight of the upper storries and roof outwards from the walls. Is it relevant that the attic space was used for storage in times past? I gather this means heavy stuff. I can't imagine that it means grains and crops because wouldn't rising heat and moisture ruin that?

[randwolf]

That's what any structural frame does, whether or not it's within the walls that keep out the climate. Question I have is, "What's the reasoning behind that?" Most traditional design in northern countries buries the structure in the walls; it protects a wooden frame from the weather. I wonder why this is different. I'm guessing style, but sometimes there are practical reasons behind style. For instance, cornices keep water away from walls, though they are usually also decorative.

[ritaxis]

Noodling along with this idea, I do notice that the windows and doors are under the arches. Would that protection be a strong enough effect to be a factor

[pameladean]

You know, there is a type of stucco house in Minneapolis that also has those ghost arches around the doors and windows, or sometimes just around the windows.

P.

[ritaxis]

Possibly because of Central European influences? This type of house is more or less centered in Lusatia, which partakes of Germany, Poland, and (former) Czechoslovakia.

[pameladean]

Yes, I'd assume so. Minnesota got quite a lot of German immigrants at one time.

P.