Article with additional information below, dated July 28, 2009 via SF Gate:
Build your own Eichler home
Even people who are passionate about the mid-century modern homes designed by architect (sic) Joseph Eichler admit that they can represent major renovation and maintenance headaches. So the news that you can build your very own genuine Eichler from scratch with all-new materials should be welcomed by fans of the architect who advocated "affordable housing for all".
Bay Area stock-plan company Houseplans.com has just released four original mid-century modern Eichler plans as part of it's Exclusive Studio Collection. The designs were done in the 1960s by architect Claude Oakland who was one of Eichler's regular architects.
All the Eichler characteristics are there: an exposed post-and-beam one-story structure, floor-to-ceiling walls of glass and the promise of easy indoor-outdoor living. One plan includes a signature Eichler open-air atrium around which the home is wrapped.
A reproducible set of master plans costs $4,500 and Houseplans.com says it will provide ideas and advice for updating them in line with today's energy codes and lifestyles. A percentage of the price of each plan supports the Environmental Design Archives at UC Berkeley, which preserves the original drawings. For details visit Houseplans.com.
