The Air Conditioned Village in Texas

Back in the day, air conditioning was a luxury and was only available to commercial businesses. However, in the 1950s, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and the University of Texas at Austin made a feasibility study of bringing central air conditioning to residential homes.

NAHB got in touch with a variety of builders and and air conditioning manufacturers and asked them to build a village on the outskirts of Allandale, in Austin, Texas, with 22 different single-story homes, each fitted with a AC manufacturer’s equipment. Each house was approximately 1,400 square feet in size with three bedrooms, one or two bathrooms, and garages. The houses were designed with features that made cooling easier and efficient. For instance, walls and roofs were insulated, the roofs had wide overhangs and extended walls to create more shade, windows were strategically located to avoid strong sun, and kitchens and bathrooms were fitted with ventilation systems.

Families who were willing to be observed by researchers bought the houses.

After the one-year-long study was over, the NAHB reported that families spent more time at home, slept longer, took on hobbies, improved their appetites, and were generally happy. The women from the Austin Air-Conditioned Village reported less dirt and dust in the house, which in turn allowed the use of previously considered luxuries such as white rugs, curtains, and upholstery.

The study would then change the standard definition of the middle-class family.