The image below is the main living space of a townhome development near me. The red circle is the towers of downtown Indianapolis. The photo doesn't capture it, but it's a very lovely view, especially at night. And the view will never be obstructed, as this end unit townhome looks over a retention pond and then straight down an east-west corridor street right to the city.
Somehow at no time along the site planning, street layout, and construction process did anyone think "Hey if we put a big window here it will have a great view to downtown and be a selling point!" Instead the unit has the same stupid high horizontal window (useful for *blocking* a bad view but still letting in light) and a huge picture window looking right out onto the street, the townhomes 40' across the road, and the speed limit sign.
Donna, a simple answer could be a proximity issue to the property line. Even though there may be nothing built next door, fire-spread rules via unprotected openings often dictate the max allowable window coverage. We have some very very high-end condos on the books at the moment and we had a very hard time convincing the client that we can't do all glass because of this issue.
Jon, I'm well aware of those and have used them before... although not in an exterior application. There are also a bitch to get up here in the frozen dirty Canadian communist tundra even if you can spec an acceptable frame/glass.
Mass produced, cost effective repetitive details are what developers want. There isn't a second thought to the end user. Just maximizing the land to mass ratio. As soon as you deviate from the cookie cutter plan things become expensive quickly for them.
20 bucks that was deemed the "TV" wall too. Hopefully an opportunity for a future homeowner modification. Sometimes sfr reno work can be really pleasing when you find things like this.
Many times I’ve said something along the lines of “and with a window here we can capture this amazing view.” and everyone looks at me like I’m a GD genius while they mutter something about how they never thought of that. If you can’t squeeze a profit out of it in the way they think it works, it doesn’t register to these people.
Well the simple answer ( at least in the developer's mind ) is no one is going to pay more for the unit if I put in a bigger window! Problem is he's probably wrong, developer's inherently expect a pretty low bar for people buying a new home and don't make the effort but much of the time folks will spend some more for something a little nicer or unique. Sure as a rental i can see not spending more than you need to but as a market unit more sophisticated builders / developers often recognize that a premium can be made with a little more design effort.... good design doesn't have to cost more to build but bad design can cost you a lot more if you F it up!
Friday Diversion: Sh!tty Developer Work
The image below is the main living space of a townhome development near me. The red circle is the towers of downtown Indianapolis. The photo doesn't capture it, but it's a very lovely view, especially at night. And the view will never be obstructed, as this end unit townhome looks over a retention pond and then straight down an east-west corridor street right to the city.
Somehow at no time along the site planning, street layout, and construction process did anyone think "Hey if we put a big window here it will have a great view to downtown and be a selling point!" Instead the unit has the same stupid high horizontal window (useful for *blocking* a bad view but still letting in light) and a huge picture window looking right out onto the street, the townhomes 40' across the road, and the speed limit sign.
Slapping my damn head.
What a missed opportunity for all. Greater value for the developer and a greater lived experience for the inhabitant.
Donna, a simple answer could be a proximity issue to the property line. Even though there may be nothing built next door, fire-spread rules via unprotected openings often dictate the max allowable window coverage. We have some very very high-end condos on the books at the moment and we had a very hard time convincing the client that we can't do all glass because of this issue.
But it also could be just bad planning.
Fire rated glazing assemblies exist but are expensive.
Non-, you are giving these developers entirely too much credit for being able to think beyond “this is how we did it before and we made bank”
Jon, I'm well aware of those and have used them before... although not in an exterior application. There are also a bitch to get up here in the frozen dirty Canadian communist tundra even if you can spec an acceptable frame/glass.
A heavy lift for sure.
Mass produced, cost effective repetitive details are what developers want. There isn't a second thought to the end user. Just maximizing the land to mass ratio. As soon as you deviate from the cookie cutter plan things become expensive quickly for them.
20 bucks that was deemed the "TV" wall too. Hopefully an opportunity for a future homeowner modification. Sometimes sfr reno work can be really pleasing when you find things like this.
It probably was designed by a builder who didn't care or wasn't trained to consider that.
Many times I’ve said something along the lines of “and with a window here we can capture this amazing view.” and everyone looks at me like I’m a GD genius while they mutter something about how they never thought of that. If you can’t squeeze a profit out of it in the way they think it works, it doesn’t register to these people.
Ahem where does a view fit under the 3 main headings of fast, cheap, and easy??? You work too hard Donna. :)
The famous 3-legged stool becomes a 4-legged one: fast, cheap, easy, and shit.
Well the simple answer ( at least in the developer's mind ) is no one is going to pay more for the unit if I put in a bigger window! Problem is he's probably wrong, developer's inherently expect a pretty low bar for people buying a new home and don't make the effort but much of the time folks will spend some more for something a little nicer or unique. Sure as a rental i can see not spending more than you need to but as a market unit more sophisticated builders / developers often recognize that a premium can be made with a little more design effort.... good design doesn't have to cost more to build but bad design can cost you a lot more if you F it up!
The architect or designer for the permit set didn't open their eyes.
only architects and rich people care about views, in my experience. this development targets neither.
Unfortunate happens every day in this business.....unfortunately.
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