You know how it is with most architects: they go on and on about how their profession isn't elitist and how anybody should be able to afford great architecture. And then they design a zillion-dollar house with a custom-built copper roof and nanotechnology glazing.
A few renowned architects, however, have given low-cost housing a fair go. Le Corbusier comes to mind, with his Unite d'Habitation in Marseilles, France, and Moshe Safdie, with his Habitat 67 in Montreal, Canada (both projects, incidentally, are now expensive real estate for well-heeled design addicts). But, generally, the attempts have been dismal, with either costs blowing out or the developments plagued with faults (Habitat 67 leaked).
Then there's American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The year was 1936 and Wright was already a household name, thanks to his Prairie houses (such as the Robie House in Chicago), his Mayanesque, textured, concrete-block houses (the John Storer House in Hollywood) and a best-selling autobiography.
With the second world war on the horizon and building materials in short supply, Wright turned his attention to creating small, affordable, architect-designed homes. Based on the Prairie houses, they would be low-slung and cantilevered in form, built from local materials, such as stone and wood, and be in harmony with their surroundings.
His first clients were Herbert and Katherine Jacobs, aspirational types with beer money and champagne tastes. They suggested Wright build them a home for US$5,000, including the price of the land. When Wright heard this, he refused. He might have wanted to design a low-cost house, but not that cheap. Thankfully, a banker who admired Wright's work came to the rescue and wrote the Jacobs a mortgage. Suddenly the affordable house wasn't looking quite so affordable (considering the average American house at the time cost US$3,900).
The Jacobs' dream home would take more than a year to construct, but it was worth the wait. Wright turned the back of the house to its suburban street and designed it around an L-shaped courtyard. He also abolished the separation of kitchen, lounge and dining spaces, paving the way for the open-plan living many of us enjoy today.