Recently, Grisafe Architecture Owner and Lead Architect Mark Grisafe was contacted by SFGATE to provide some comments on an iconic piece of Long Beach architecture: a single-family home in the Rose Park neighborhood known as the “Skinny House.” The Skinny House has an interesting history, as well as a unique combination of architectural styles, both of which are discussed in the SFGATE article.
In his comments in the article, Mark brought up how it would be difficult to get such a house approved in Long Beach today. (The Skinny House was built in 1932.) Building codes were much more lenient then than they are today—especially considering that the house was built before the 6.4-magnitude earthquake that rattled Long Beach in 1933. That earthquake led to the passing of the Riley Act shortly thereafter, which required California cities to set up departments that would regulate how buildings were constructed going forward.
While the ensuing regulations have definitely made homes and buildings in Long Beach much safer—especially from earthquakes—they also make getting plans approved in Long Beach much more challenging.
Mark also addressed the challenges that come with a unique project like the Skinny House saying: “[They] always cost more, because even though it’s small, you spend so much time scrutinizing the code and getting expert help,” However, Mark did admit that these types of projects are fun for him personally because he loves to take on projects that “push the envelope” in some way.
We made a similar observation in this previous blog post, where a potential client thought the design fees for his project should be inexpensive because his project was so small and seemingly uncomplicated. Small projects still have many of the same requirements as larger projects. In other words, small projects aren’t necessarily simple projects and can sometimes take almost as many hours to design as a larger one.
Small projects also have unique challenges. Like Mark pointed out with the Skinny House: “You don’t have the luxury of hallways.” You also have to get more creative with space planning. A small kitchen, for example, still needs to have most of the same appliances as a large kitchen, as well as at least some storage and counter space, but all of it needs to be arranged much more compactly. This can require some creative problem solving on the part of the architect.
So, will there ever be another “Skinny House” in Long Beach? Possibly. But getting it approved by the City will be no easy feat. Although here at Grisafe Architecture, we might be up for the challenge!
Do you have a residential or commercial design project in need of a Long Beach architect? Contact us at Grisafe Architecture to tell us about it and to see how we can work together to bring it to life!
