Bungalow

From ArticleWorld

Bungalow is the term used for a small, one-storey house or cottage built in a turn of the century style, often with a prominent front verandah. They are usually built on a single level on their own compounds or with others. Bungalows are usually housed on large compounds (½ acre or more) and usually have all the rooms on the ground floor. A bungalow is relatively long and low in proportion, rectangular in plan, with an irregular interior floor plan, featuring integral porches and low-pitched roofs.

Record

The word bungalow has its origin in the Hindi word ‘bangla’ or a house in the Bengal region of India. The old and historical Bengal bungalows have wide, cool verandahs running sometimes on all four sides of the house to keep the inner living rooms safe from the heat of the Indian summer. These verandahs house a large number of leafy plants to trap heat and dust from entering indoors. During winters these verandahs are used for sun bathing and drying and airing household articles. In America such houses with a small front porch are popular in Southern California. In Chicago, too, most bungalows were built in the 1920s and often sported a gabled-roof with two to three bedrooms, a half-sunken basement, and stairs leading to an attic.

Different kinds

A traditional bungalow has changed to encompass many variations in style and design, so much so that a modern bungalow has become a strange blend of Bengalese, Queen Anne and Swiss chalet architecture.

1. Ranch style: This kind has all the family rooms housed on one side and all the public rooms on the other so that privacy is maintained.
2. Raised bungalow: Such bungalows typically have basements that are a little above ground level so that they get natural light from the windows that are situated high on the basement walls.
3. Lofted bungalows: These are actually one-and-a-half storey houses with the attic situated just under the ceiling, on the second floor while all other rooms including the bedrooms are on the ground floor. Sometimes the artic may be converted into a small extra bedroom.