Culberston House Garage:
Pasadena, California, USA
Greene & Greene, architects
Location
Geographically, the building is located on the West coast of the United States in the southern portion of the state of California. The building lies within the city of Pasadena in Los Angeles county, overlooking the Arroyo Seco valley and its tributary a
reas.
History
The original house was designed by the architects Greene & Greene for the Culbertson family in 1902. The house portrays the true Craftsman style through its intricate wooden detailing and Japanese influenced construction techniques. The garage itself wa
s constructed in 1906, and emphasized the Japanese feel also found in the design and detailing of the main house. The garage was intended primarily to enhance the entry sequence from the street edge to the house via the large garden and surrounding lands
cape. Conceptually the garage addition was designed to be an airy garden pergola, similar to the ones already surrounding the terraces of the main house.
Physical Description
The garage accentuates the Asian influences through its heavy timber framing, strong joinery and simple yet elegent profile. The rectangular building is enclosed on three sides, the fourth of which is constructed from large, intricately detailed wooden d
oors. The exterior of the building is accentuated horizontally by decorative moldings which run the length of the facade and are applie to plaster. The main roof structure is constructed of heavy timber framing with additional cross members to complete
an open roofed matrix. The physical dimensions of the overall structure are 16'-4" wide by 21'-4" long for a floor area of approximately 355 square feet. The total height of the walls including the foundation and overhead beams is 12'-6" for a total vol
ume of 4,434 cubic feet.
The various materials used in the construction of the garage, range from heavy timbers found in the primary vertical supports and roof beams, to masonry and brick for the foundation. The specific dimensions for the wooden beams are as follows: the large
horizontal spnning members for the roof are 10" by 12", the secondary members above these beams are 4" x 6" and function primarily as roof stiffeners. Both the top and bottom plates for the wall systems are constructed from 6" x 8" members. The main ver
tical columns measure 6" x 6" and provide the primary sturctural support for the vertical loads. The foundation for the building is comprised of a concrete footing which runs the perimeter of the footprint. A revealed brick foundation wall of five cours
ed sits on top of the footing and is capped by a top course which runs perpendicular to the lower brick courses. The floor for the interior space of the garage is a 4" concrete slab poured over a layer of coarse gravel. The construction of the walls con
sist of the vertical columns infilled with metal lathe and plaster.
Building Process
The building was produced on site with traditional construction methods of the time. The framing and joinery required skilled laborers capable of executing the details prescribed by Greene & Greene. The basic construction was both labor and material int
ensive, not very cost efficient by modern standards. However, it was effective in that the building has survived earthquakes, weathering and time.
Structural Descripton/Aspects
The building's basic structure and design resists primarily live loads common to the regional area of Los Angeles. These loads consist primarily of occasional earthquakes, intense rain and gusty winds from the Arroyo Seco canyon. These lateral loads are
resisted by composite shear walls of metal lathe and plaster, board and batten and the wooden stud framing. The lathe and plaster and board and batten elements of the composite walls act as diagonal bracing and stiffeners for the entire structure, helpi
ng it to withstand lateral loading. Lateral loading applied to the walls are transferred evenly to the other walls of the structure and maintain the rigidity of the garage through this shear force acting in a direction opposite to the applied forces. Th
e walls perpendicular to the face experiencing the lateral loads act as rigid frames which prevent the structure from collapsing like dominoes. These walls then transfer the forces to the foundation which anchors the building to the earth and transfers t
he load quickly out of the system.
Potential vertical loads would be natural weather conditions according to the season and the dead weight of the structure itself. These loads are transferred from the primary spanning beams directly to the columns which move the load through the wall pla
ne and out the foundation. The primary beams extend past their supports in a cantilever which provides visual interest and accentuates the horizontality of the building. The beams taper at the ends (resembling their shear diagram) to decrease the dead l
oad and consequently decrease the stress experienced by the beam. The longest span by the primary beams is the interior width of the garage which is 14'-4".
Conclusions
This building is a positive example of the load bearing capacities of simple and traditional building techniques. The self evident heavy timber framing accentuates the building design through its own structure and ordering principles, while also maintain
ing the ideals of the Craftsman style through honesty and integrity of the materials.
Bibliography
- Makinson, Randell. Greene & Greene. Peregrine Smith, Inc., Salt Lake City, 1977.
Associated Buildings
Erich Mele & Kari Greene
ARCH 461/561 Spring 1995
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