THIS IS A DESIGN as lasting as the stone with which it is built. The wide wall spaces and the window locations all add to the feeling of strength. The arrangement was planned for comfortable living, with screened side porch and open rear terrace. The back stairway from the kitchen to the landing makes for better circulation. The four big bedrooms and two handily located baths upstairs give ample space and convenience for a large family; and the downstairs powder room is particularly well located. The exterior is native stone, laid rough with wide flush mortar joints. This house is owned by Mr. J. E. Franken, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa; and was built by Bruce and Kenneth McKay, contractors, of Cedar Rapids.

ARCHITECT Richard J. Neutra was asked to design the first Modern house of the Bildcost service because his style isn't "arty," isn't striving for shocking departures, but rather is a result of using the new materials of construction in designing a house in which to live.

All traditional designs have a basis in functionalism. Elizabethan England and Norman France have heavy timbers since they were available for the chopping, and it was easier to use these timbers, filling in the spaces between with stone and plaster, than to saw the oak into boards. Mediterranean homes were of masonry or stucco because wood was entirely too expensive there. The stucco eroded with the rains, so wide eaves prevented this erosion and at the same time protected from the hot sun.

Architect Neutra's design is thoroly functional. Overhanging roof and deck areas protect the interior from sun glare. Room lights are flush with ceilings. Flower boxes, roof decks, ironing board-all are built into the design. Glass walls bring the garden right into the house, and from any room "out-of-doors" is just thru a single door. The downstairs bedroom opens into its own garden, and living quarters open into a lawn patio.

Dining- and living-rooms, tho separated by draperies, can be thrown into one room for expansive entertaining. There is a downstairs lavatory which can be converted to a full-size bathroom.

A GLANCE AT the picture of this home, product of the skill of Chicago Architect George Loane Tucker, reveals excellent one-story arrangement of a 5- room home. Altho overall dimensions are within reasonable limits, Architect Tucker has provided rooms of good size and ample closet space for the bedrooms, with a coat closet off the living-room, and a linen closet adjacent to the bedrooms and bath. The modest exterior treatment is beautifully handled and the arches of the small corner porch are of particularly good scale. The garage carries out the decorative details introduced in the house itself. Tho the house is small, its different elements are well segregated, with hall space at an absolute minimum.

The relationship of the rooms in this plan provides for entertainment and study so that the regular routine of the family life can be followed at any time. The members' modes of living, the service problem of such a family, and the way they would circulate in the home were thought of in the abstract first, as if the boundaries of each room and its relation to the others were individual. Then the shell of the house inclosing these units of space was designed. Regency was selected as the best design because it has the atmosphere of adequacy without an appearance of waste and undue extravagance.

The exterior is of cement plaster or brick. The windows are out-swinging wood casements. An unusual feature of the plan is the stairway location back of the main hall for privacy and to avoid disturbing those in the living rooms. Complete privacy can be enjoyed in the inclosed porch. A dumb-waiter is located where it can serve the basement, the breakfast nook, the sun porch, or the recreation room. Younger members of the family can entertain on the sun porch, and father can have his friends for cards in the recreation room, while mother enjoys her guests in the living-room. Other guests might be entertained at the same time in the seclusion of the study.

TOO RARELY USED, but architecturally distinguished, is the raising of this house above street level on a firm, broad terrace. If your lot is low in relation to the street, it's an attractive solution.

But that's an incidental feature of this rather amazing home. Behind those front walls, which give all the appearance of a cottage, we find seven generous-size rooms. It has a downstairs lavatory and upstairs are two baths, one with a shower stall.

Other fine features of this plan that should be considered are the direct access to any room, downstairs or up, without passing thru another; downstairs lavatory convenient for clean-ups on the way in from yard or garage; sheltered passageway to the garage; dinette in a wing with windows on two sides for light and air; a stair-landing that breaks the climb up and gives privacy to the upstairs hall. Each of the three bed- rooms is provided with two roomy closets.

Already distinguished, the design is further enhanced by the recessed front entrance and the attractive canopy and lattice. Architect Herbert F. Smenner designed it; and H. Kay Nicewanner built it for the Ed Haymonds family, of Muncie, Indiana.