the HALLMARKS

GROUND-HUGGING massing and horizontal lines, seen especially in windows, follow the flat or low-pitched roof free of dormers. Tucked into the landscape, many houses appear to be one level. The sheltered entry is downplayed.

LARGE WINDOWS and generous glazing are common: consider the glazed gable in Contemporary houses, the window walls and ribbon windows of International Style, and wide “picture windows” in suburban examples.

DESIGN AUSTERITY, though most pronounced in the International Style, is apparent in Modern houses and even postwar ranches. Casings are absent or unadorned, no turnings are seen in porch parts, wall surfaces are plain.

MODERNITY shows up in a more open interior plan, which often segregates the public area from bedrooms, and also in the adoption of such postwar materials as plate glass, plywood, concrete, and laminates.