The bungalow had more to do with how Americans live today than any other building that has gone remotely by the name of architecture in our history.

Lynes is arguing that the bungalow’s real importance is social rather than stylistic: it reshaped everyday American domestic life more than celebrated “high” architecture did. The bungalow popularized a compact, efficient, informal house plan—often single-story, with integrated living spaces and a strong connection to porch and yard—that fit the rise of the middle class, commuting, and mass homebuilding. By contrasting it with buildings “remotely” called architecture, he also critiques professional and monumental architecture as less influential on how most people actually live. The quote elevates vernacular, widely adopted forms as the true drivers of cultural change.