Drumaldry - An Architectural History

The 104 houses that comprise Drumaldry are taken from six different, but aesthetically cohesive, designs. Five of these were the work of Mr. Pappas – Garden Court; Grand Court; Twin Court; Summit Court; and Terrace Court. According to the architect, another design for some of the houses on Swords Way, which were the last to be built, were the work of someone within the firm of Miller and Smith.

In the firm’s marketing brochure, Drumaldry’s special quality was captured with a quote from John Ruskin’s Stones of Venice:

We require from buildings as from men,

two kinds of goodness: first, doing their

practical duty well; then, that they may be

graceful and pleasing, in doing it.

To address the need to be practical, the builders took great pride in the quality of the materials prescribed for the house, some of which over time have proved not to be as durable as described. These include:

handsplit cedar for the roofs that would provide “maximum beauty and protection. These wood fibers are held together so stubbornly that the roof will last the life of the house with very little maintenance.”

“wood siding and trim are cedar and redwood. These woods are stained only for aesthetics, because their natural preservation characteristics allow them to be exposed to weather without the deterioration experienced with more common species.”

“well constructed windows … [with] such a low air infiltration factor (that means less drafts) and are so sturdy, that they are frequently specified for highrise apartments. … We hope you are impressed … because they cost us a lot of money … but they’ll save you a lot of money.”

modern appliances and fixtures, including tubs with “a low coefficient of heat transfer (your feet don’t get cold when you first step in)” and “The huge 80-gallon, glass lined water heater” that would allow for multiple showers at the same time that the dishwasher was running.

The information quoted here is derived from the community’s original marketing brochure, as well as that of the firm of David N. Yerkes and Associates.

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