Expert: John Henry Architect - 8/11/2008

Question
Hello Mr. John Henry,
We have a house, built in 1930, that's always been referred to as a Tudor - and it does have typical Tudor characteristics - except for the roof; specifically, the roof peak. Could I send you a small image so you can see what I'm talking about? Some people say it looks faintly oriental, which I can kind of see, but I think the best way to describe it is that it's slightly reminiscent of the Dr. Seuss/Cat in the Hat style of architecture (seriously).
I hope that you either know exactly what I'm talking about, or that I've piqued your interest enough to let me send you a picture :)
Thank you very much for your time!

Kind Regards,

j-me

PS You might be interested to know that I grew up in one of Wright's Usonian homes - the Pieper house in Paradise Valley, AZ...that was a long time ago; I don't think much of the original house remained after an unfortunate reconstruction project - too bad, it was such a great house!

Answer
Yes, there have been oriental versions of most architectural mainline styles.  This may also be a type of 'storybook style' as well.
Please send photo: johnhenry@cfl.rr.com

We just visited Fallingwater outside of Pittsburg and have seen Taliesin house plus FLWs studio in Oak Park and related houses there.  U.S. architects consistently give FLW's work top billing when polled but most Americans here do not care for the low ceilings and cramped hallway, living areas in most of his Usonians!