HomeMy WebLinkAboutarea-uFORM A - AREA
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COVISSION
294 Washington Street, Boston, MA. 02108
- ----------------------------------------
Form numbers in this area Area letter
564-571 u
Lexington
,f area (if any) Five Fields
Il date or period early 1950s
_ Sketch map. Draw a general map of the area indicating properties within it.
Number each property for which individual inventory
forms have
been completed.
Label streets (including route numbers, if any) and indicate north. (Attach a
separate sheet if space here isnot sufficient)
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Recorded by Nancy S. Seasholes
Organization Lexinqton Historical Commissior.
Date February, 1984
(Staple additional sheets here)
ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE of area.(Describe physical setting, general character,
and architecturally significant structures).
Set in an area once open fields separated by stone walls but now, after 30
years growth of landscaped plantings, largely wooded, Five Fields is a community
of contemporary homes designed and developed by The Architects Collaborative
(TAC) of Cambridge. TAC envisioned a planned community of well-designed, low-cost
houses. In order to keep the price down and to compete with other similar houses
then on the market, such as those by Techbuilt, TAC offered standard plans with
certain components, such as roof trusses, mass produced. Originally, three house
types were built: a one-story model on flat sites, a two-story version of the same
model on steep slopes, and a split level on gentle slopes (see 11 Field Road and
1 Field Road forms). Problems arose, however, when prospective buyers wanted to
make changes. The changes were costly, so later plans allowed more opportunities
for custom design and as a result were more expensive.
The original Five Fields houses had vertical redwood siding and pitched
roofs and could thus be called a variant of ranch style. (Pitched roofs were
(see Continuation Sheet)
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE of area. (Explain development of area, what caused it,
and how it affected community; be specific).
Five Fields was started in 1951 by The Architects Collaborative (TAC) of
Cambridge. Pleased with the success of their Six Moon Hill development in
Lexington (see Moon Hill area form), TAC wanted to repeat some of that community's
unique features, particularly the common land and an incorporated community with
its own bylaws. TAC was also interested in providing more work for the firm so,
when they heard that an 80 -acre parcel in Lexington was available, they decided to
develop an entire housing community themselves (Norman Fletcher, personal
-- communication). Because the AIA code of ethics prevented architects from being
directly involved in development, a corporation named Site and Shelter was formed
to build roads and sell lots.
Five Fields was originally farmland divided by stone walls into five fields,
hence its name. TAC divided the area into 68 house lots of at least half an acre
each and provided for 20 acres of common land; the latter was later changed to
seven acres and the size of some lots increased. Roads were designed to curve or
to be cul-de-sacs, for visual variety and, in the case of cul-de-sacs, children's
safety. Field Road was the first to be built; then the section of Barberry Road
west of Field Road, and finally Barberry Road east of Field Road. Ground was
broken in June 1951; by August 1952, 29 houses had been built; and by 1957 all
lots had been sold for what is now a community of 59 houses, some of which are on
double lots.
A "Five Fields Association" began to meet in late fall 1951 as soon as the
first residents moved in, and the corporation planned by TAC was set up soon
afterwards. It determines policy on various neighborhood issues and all
(see Continuation Sheet)
BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES
"Architects Turn Merchant Builders." House and Home, August 1952, 88-93.
Five Fields Archives. In possession of S. Seymour Kassman, Lexington, Massachusetts.
Gropius, Walter et al., editors. 1966. The Architects Collaborative: 1945-1965.
Switzerland: Arthur Niggli Ltd.
Reinhardt, E.W. The Architect Designed Development: Two Prototypes and their
Implications. Paper prepared for FA798, Boston University, May 1974.
Trefethen, Florence Newman. 1983. "Starting from Scratch." Bryn Mawr Alumnae
Bulletin (Fall), pp. 20-22.
ZM-6/80
INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL CUMSSION
Office of the Secretary, Boston
Community:
Lexington
Form No:
U
Property Name: Five Fields
Indicate each item on inventory form which is being continued below.
ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE
intentionally used because the site sloped and TAC did not want uphill houses
looking down on neighboring flat roofs.) Later models had flat or shed roofs and
wide overhangs and are more reminiscent of the International Style houses in the
TAC development at Six Moon Hill in Lexington (see 2 Barberry Road, 5 Stonewall
Road, and Moon Hill area forms).
On the interior the houses had an open living/dining/kitchen area, making
the supervision of small children easier, and many features considered superior
to those offered in tract houses of that era: a separate entry with a coat closet,
a "T" hall plan that used little space and provided quick access to all areas, a
circulatim pattern that did not go through the living room, and storage space in
the furnace room. The materials were also considered better than those in tract
houses: oak floors, plaster walls and ceilings, metal window sash and door bucks,
metal sliding closet doors, and large panes of glass.
Five Fields houses are sited to take advantage of the view, the sun, and
the prevailing breeze; they have small windows on the street side and the living
room and 14rge areas of glass at the back, facing the view. This was in contrast
to the usual tract development where houses were lined up facing the street.
Five Fields landscaping was also different from the usual development: old trees
were saved, houses were surrounded by the original fields rather than lawns, and
plantings were designed to provide screening and privacy.
The architectural significance of Five Fields is not as much in the design
of individual houses as it is in the attempt by an architectural firm to create a
planned community of well-designed, well -sited, moderately -priced homes. Those
that have been inventoried are examples of the original models (11 Field Road and
1 Field Road) and of the later, more custom-designed models (2 Barberry Road, 5
Stonewall Road, and 510 Concord Avenue), with preference given to houses that
have been published. In addition to the standard houses, Five Fields also
includes some houses custom designed by TAC architects and some of these are
architecturally significant in their own right (see 502 Concord Avenue, 17
Barberry Road, and 4 Stonewall Road forms).
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE
homeowners have a vote. In 1956 it was decided to build a community swimming
pool and it is run as a separate corporation. As in their Moon Hill development,
TAC retained design control over any building additions; although this control
expired in 1971, additions have generally been in keeping with TAC's original
designs. One eventuality that TAC did not foresee, however, was that, instead of
moving when they outgrew their houses or became more affluent, many of the
original or early residents have stayed and added on to their houses instead.
Thus, most of the houses in Five Fields appear to be completely different from
one another rather than variations on a few standard plans.
Staple to Inventory form at bottom
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