We constantly speak about the proliferation of the mcMansion among the suburbs destroying the culture of architecture in America. Granted the mcMansion for many is the concept of housing in their environment.
Being a non-american and practicising in a very diferent locale I'm curious how many out there do this kind of architecture - willing or not? Come on don't be shy - we know for some its what feeds the kids while we feel the Corbusien soul inside of us burning in a firery pit. Come on confession time again...
i did it for other firms and hated every second of working with that crap that some sheep-style people love. the only thing i "learned" was how to show less really is better once i was on my own. i am better at "anti-mcmansioning" now after being on the dark side while paying my dues.
now i won't touch it as i'm the boss. i'd rather eat rice and beans than compromise my integrity. but, i don't end up eating rice and beans. :)
if all archictects just said no.... but then we still have the yahoo builiders... geez.
Yes McMansions are a cancer, but not the whole problem.
Here in the midwest everything is growing proportionately with the size and popularity of the McMansion.
-Retail stores (big box)
-lot sizes
-lot setbacks
-the tracts of land which are developed all at once by developers
-our cars
-our fat asses
I bet 1% of all construction in this part of the country is done with an architect. You cannot buy a lot and have an architect design a house for you, unless it is 30miles out of town. Developers own all the land, the city council, and may soon have an equal say on the Board of Architects and Engineers, along with Real Estate agents.
But to answer your question, I have not had the privlege to do a McMansion because they don't use architects. Truth be told the office I was working at before they had to let me go (because there is no work for architects) was doing an abortion clinic and a porn shop. Glamorous!
what about contemporary McMansions, ya'know, the ridiculously sized, socially irresponsible homes produced by the architects with a different canon (not spanish mediterranean or colonial, but still commiting all of the other faults). Meier comes to mind, but so do a slew of other less known modern architects. This is almost no different in my opinion, yet much more tolerated by the architecture community...
the problem is that the mcmansion is the american dream... as much as it pains me to think about living in a mcmansion somewhere in the burbs... for people here in the midwest it's the best thing since budweiser... i would love to see some modern contemporary homes being built here but it's just not possible because of the american mentality. Bigger is better here, quantity over quality, speed over quality... frankly the mcmansion is perfect for america, i think it fits the personality of this country. I doubt i'll ever have to design one since there's a whole standard book of designs that all developers have... copy and paste... copy and paste...
but what about the "modern contemporary homes" that are McMansions with a fresher look. I bet architects are much more willing to do these things, in the name of modernism or whatever.
in conversation the other day a friend of mine referred to new urban housing being built as little-mc-mansions, for which I coined the term "white castles"
A $30 Rolex is just as good as a $3000 Rolex. You finally get the Mercedes you've always dreamed of and some punk-ass teenagers pull up next to you in next years model. A developer McMansion is every bit as good as an architect designed home because the same gang of Mexicans will build both houses and they have one way of doing things and it is fairly well. Just like your watch is fairly well and your car is fairly well. Las Vegas has constructed more hotel rooms in 10 years than LA has in its entire arsenal. Welcome to a free enterprise free market society. For better or worse McMansions are a democratic institution. Like in Vegas, you walk in and suspend your disbelief long enough to somehow believe that it really is all about you.
The problem is, basically, American's have bad taste. Then there have been the large expanses of land, allow ridiculous suburbs to sprout up where developers could make bigger to attract more people. Now that's just become the norm.
I think there is a big difference between a Meier mansion and a McMansion. As the name suggests, the Mc's are basically rehashed cookie cutter designs. Rehashed from psuedo-Spanish and from down the street. A one-off home, like Meier's Rachowsky house, is a design tailored specifically to the client and site (that's arguable, but they are somewhat). Architecture wouldn't exist without this playground.
The last problem is that most architect's suck as designers. There are tons of unknown great ones, of course, but in general, they are reasponsible for our built environment and it's pretty ugly. Capitalism and gov't also play a part, allowing for massive Wal Marts and ugly designs to go up everywhere.
It's all about consumerism, consumption, egos, and too much bad tv. I guess it always comes back to having bad taste and no interest in learning more about possibilities. Bad taste and laziness pretty much sums it up.
We have the problem around Chicago of McMansions true, but also the tear-down. The teardown is taking an extremely well crafted bungalow of approx 2400 s.f. on well proportioned and wooded lots, and replacing them with lot line to lot line monsters with no character. Worse yet is the land price is so high they build on a tight budget since theres not a whole lot of money left after aquisition. Interestingly enough its architects pushing this. Those "yahoo" builders from the 1920's didnt need such "profesional" direction to build a good product.
Why is it that everyone is talking about the McMansions in the midwest? This is a problem in all of N. America - or the western world for that matter. I've seen massive lots with even more massive catalog house montrosities from Miami to Vancouver, BC - from San Diego to Boston. They are everywhere and I don't see why American architects are always assuming we are the only designers faced with this problem. Granted, it takes a lot more money to build a McMansion in Europe, but I have non-architect friends there, and believe me or not, they want those things too.
They are a ill effect of capatilism and cheap energy. I don't like them just as much as the next architect, but they are pretty much are the housing vernacular now. Then again, celebrated architects like Corbu had ideas for cities of "towers in the park." Someone made a comment about not many good designers out there, right? Maybe that's the underlying problem. Who knows.
Myself, never done a McMansion, but have done a lot of projects that fell into the sprawled built up zone around the McMansions. Guess I'm just as guilty as the next architect.
i think architects are the only people that don't like these "mcmansions"...maybe that says how out of toach we are...comparing reality to the utopias in our head
while i don't particularly agree with her aesthetic, i find her anti-big stance spot on.
the mcmansion is not only ugly, but a lot of the space inside goes unused, as it is most often not even spacially considered. sure, there is a lot of space in the 'great room,' but everyone congregates in the kitchen.
Caleb - I couldn't agree more. While Meier makes some beautiful spaces, his responses lack originality and sensitivity to context. Also, he seems more than willing to cater to the elite.
I have seen projects of his across Europe, and for the most part, he does the same thing over and over again. Gehry, on the other hand (whose buildings I am not fond of) has represented throughout his career a continual attempt to explore). If you look at what he did 20 years ago and what he does now, you see a progression, an evolution. I believe this is what he has to teach, and what Meier needs to learn.
I agree that Susanka is "spot on" with her "anti-big stance" and she is able to appeal to the architectural lay person in a easy to understand, non threatening, logical way. Lately when ever a friend asks me to design, wait, let me rephrase, DRAFT, their "dream house", I ask them to read this first. I unfortunatly have drafted plans for friends taken from a plan book (I've just recently decided to stick to my guns and stop this evil practice, I need an AA or something)
A - I am intrigued by the idea of McMansions and other cookie-cutter "styles" being the current vernacular - which by my definition means using local building practices and available materials...if so this is a disturbing but logical offshoot of consumerism and globalization. Lets see what the next twenty or so years means for "vernacular" houses.
If you look at the life cycle of American cities, yesterdays mansions became todays multifamily housing and in some cases back to mansions. Examples would include chicago's neighborhoods and boulevards, Upper west side manhatten, etc. These McMansions could become tomorrows multigenerational housing as boomers will never go quietly into a nursing home. My fear is the pre-engineered structural lumber ie TGI's etc wont be as easily adaptable as conventional stick framing was. We are not leaving "solid" housing stock for the future generations, for whom construction will cost even more.
trace eluded to this regarding taste but the whole "bigger or more is better" syndrome is not limited to housing as most would agree.
the whole massive war-ready SUV craze, the excessive consumersim, obsession with connectivity technology toys, etc. (who REALLY needs to be contacted and connected 7/24/365?) we joke about the Ford SUV's being: escape, explorer, expedition, excursion and the subdivision. comes with your own new zip code.
and you know a large percentage of those living that lifestyle are in debt up to their eyeballs with the fat mortgage, two $800 car payments, lessons in everything for their 2 1/2 kids, blah blah blah...
i think the whole "simplistic living" attitude will have to take hold before the mcmansion fad swings back in the direction of realistic needs vs. showy and big. why drive a reasonable VW wagon when you can re-fi and get matching H2's? http://fuh2.com
a sociologist is needed more than just us insignificant architects to get to the core of this issue.
There will be a backlash sometime in the near future. It's starting to happen, here and there. Energy costs will be a huge factor. Poorly made and over sized leads to losing money, which no one wants.
Celeb - "i think architects are the only people that don't like these "mcmansions"...maybe that says how out of toach we are...comparing reality to the utopias in our head"
No, what it's saying is that people have lousy taste. That our society is driven by mass media, by consumption, by marketing. People like what they see, if they see it over and over - same goes for music.
I agree Meier is not exactly contexually sensitive, but at the same time, some of his buildings are incredibly appropriate. Douglas house? Brilliant. Smith house? Superb in it's setting.
Rehashed Corbu? Somewhat, but only basics. It's a matter of taste, but one thing he did get right was designing things most people like. Catering to the rich? I know of no architect that would not love commissions at the level he gets. I sure would. You work for who you can, very few architect's choose their clients.
i have this arguement with my folks almost everytime i go home. family land where i grew up riding horses, 4-wheeling, camping and hiking are slowly getting carved up into subdivisions that hold these mcmansions/starter homes. it makes me want to cry everytime i drive out there to see my relatives.
basically my parents argue that not everyone can afford an architect to design their home nor does everyone want to live in a 'funky' modern home. i respond by saying that one, not all architects want to put people in 'funky' modern homes and two, consumers have come to understand buying these cookie-cutter houses as the norm, when the norm could be something much better. if the consumer were to demand a better product from the developer/builder/architect then the standard would be raised. instead they can get the room they need, the cute yard and move right in - it's a houme built for the jone's or the smith's. i think it's a simultaneous responsibilty (and i stress this because the responsibility does not fall completely on the consumer) on our part to try and come up with viable solutions and choices for the consumers' needs.
Here in Europe you would have to be a millionaire to live in a McMansion and drive an SUV. Even though many Europeans will never trade places with Americans deep down they would love to have a simple walk-in closest, drive the SUV to K-mart and get a large enough parking space in front of the door. McMansions may not be the perfect house in terms of aesthetics, it is a house made for the people and that is what is important. The question is, would you live in a 400,000.00 dollar designed 600 sq.ft house with a small garden in the back or would you live in a 150,000.00 dollar 4000 sq.ft pure American McMansion? Give me a greencard and a McMansion and i'll be happy.
while we might not be to proud of the current standards of middle class living lets not overlook the advancements and appreciate the evolution of the american domestic scene from levytown: were everyhouse was exactly identical, to new urbanists were elements are shared via, medditeranean (stucco, tile roof), craftsman (hardi-plank), to stone etc. and while all of these pathetic examples of design (by our 4-5 yr. educational standards) they are a huge uprade from the typical trailer park. or typical apartment block. Americans are most commonly identified by their individualistic stances, yet conforming aesthetic sense, american subrbs are the physical extention of that spirit.
We probably all know there are two issues here. 1 -Size, shape, type of houses and 2- size, shape, type of subdivision. "Cookie-cutter" isn't nessessarily bad, there is an economy (which is important) to repetition. Part of the evolution of the built environment involves a slow customization of what was once repetition. I think evilplatypus brings up a valid concern about the quality of housing stock and therefore the physical ability to customize it. Also, people are so concerned with "resale value" that it paralysizes their ability to enjoy the space while they are there. (I realize that I am preaching to the choir here)
Not sure where people are getting their numbers from. $150k for 4000 sq/ft? Not anywhere I've lived or visited were things anywhere near that cheap. Where did you say that was again?
One of the problems is that people feel the need to borrow an absurd amount to buy a home. 4000 sq/ft? No one needs that. It's just ridiculous.
irony: it costs more to design a "minimilistic" modern home then a "cooky cutter" with all their faux gables, and crap
Not sure where you are getting your numbers, either, Celeb. The one we are putting up now is $80 per sq/ft. Your numbers are just wrong. Those faux this and that cost $$ that are taken out in other areas. We've chosen to put the $$ where it will be experienced, large windows, quality flooring, passive solar, large roof deck.
I'd argue that we are creating a disaster with the McMansion. New Urbanists, while having some good ideas, are far from ideal or perfect. Progress? I don't see much, on the contrary, I see environmental nightmares with costly highways, etc., and when prices of oil keep going up, these areas will be waste lands as people can't afford them anymore. It's easy to add an addition, but take off part of a house to make it energy efficient?
The only good thing I see is the movement to modernism/minimal homes that a few are pursuing. 4000 sq/ft is absurd for the average family. And if you want that, you should be required to have x amount of open land to go with it. Lofts are another positive area that are helping to densify urban areas and lessen the need for more highways.
trace, those numbers are very relative to the area of the country you are in and due to a number of factors: availiablility of labor (unions, illegal) material, code restrictions property values etc.
one thing u are not taking into account, high gas prices spur new technologies and alternatives ex. hybrid cars have grown 1000% since 1999 and only growing. highways will never go away, they are as american as apple pie. allow for the most freedom of movement possible.
a typical "cooky" cutter here is 55-60 bucks per square ft.
Give me my SUV, give me my 4 car garage attached to a drivit 3 story house that looks colonial, give me my Starbucks grande decaf cappicino, give me my perfect 10X24 green lawn with bball net, 2 oak trees out front, 1 cat, 2 dogs, 2.54 kids, give me liberty!!!! I LOVE the USA
Choose life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family, Choose a fucking big television, Choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players, and electrical tin openers Choose leisure wear and matching luggage. Choose a three piece suite on hire purchase in a range of fucking fabrics. Choose DIY and wondering who you are on a Sunday morning. Choose sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing sprit-crushing game shows, stuffing fucking junk food into your mouth. Choose rotting away at the end of it all, pishing you last in a miserable home, nothing more than an embarrassment to the selfish, fucked-up brats you have spawned to replace yourself. Choose your future. Choose life.
The biggest reason that McMansions are so prevalent and popular compared to a house tailor-made to the client by an architect is that the McMansion is easy to turnover and resell. Those looking to buy the house can immediately understand it and its uniformity enables anyone to move in. The tailor-made house needs to find a unique buyer who understands it and can figure out how to adapt their lifestyle to fit it. With all the turnover in today's housing market, this is why the lay person finds the McMansion more appealing.
Archnrrrd makes a good point. I have some friends in residential real-estate and they continually say that a custom built/architect designed middle class home will not sell. Buyers are scared by something unique that doesn't come from a giant builder, ie Centex, Pulte, etc. I read once that the average American lives in a home only 7 years! Real-estate has become a high turnover business with a lot of money to be had by everyone, except architects, who never really were let into the fold. Assembly line McHouses are probably are the best way to treat our housing stock as a comodity. The irony is that from what I've seen of residential construction lately, I'd be surprised to see new houses built today still standing in 40 years.
the fact that these houses won't last more then 40 yrs is partially by design.....construction industry is a large economic indicater/engine and it has to be kept going. supposedly there are more home owners in america then ever before, those new home owners in their "starter homes" will feel constricted in a few years and need to upgrade to a larger mcmansion.
A, makes a very key observation : "architects, who never really were let into the fold". i think we need to swallow our pretentouse attitides towards middle-class housing and emerse our profesion into it. with our foresite and planning hopefully make suburban/mall america a more tolerable and enviromentally friendly enviroment.
to slay the beast you first most be emersed in it to point out the flaws and make the needed improvments
i'm sure lots have noticed this as well but may of the new tv commercials this past year or two are using clean, mid-century modern homes. have you seen how many times koenig's case study house # 22 is used for "joe public product" print ads and on tv?
if the media has any influence at all as we suspect, this surely should get people seeing "good" design and appreciating a simpler and cleaner aesthetic.
IIRC, fergus was quoting 'fight club'... alluding to the root of the problem: credit. no one could really afford all this excess if it weren't for all of the lending institutions begging americans to borrow money.
A's statement about architects not being let into the fold is only partially true. The builders and developers still need an architect to design these "McMansions". I know that at many firms... and sadly at the one I am presently working for... these suburban neighborhood's are just something we spit out, bread and butter, on the side projects to fuel our "real" design projects. Designing one unit at $200 a pop and multiplying it by 100 units is quick and easy revenue for a small architectural firm. Granted, many great architects have tried to solve the cookie cutter/low income housing issue but none have suceeded on a broad (sub)urban scale. Even so, its not a lost cause and I still feel like it really boils down to the integrity of the designer tackling these projects. The demand will never go away so it is up to us to adapt and make the best of it.
I do feel that all is not lost as well. At least there is a growing interest in altrenatives and people are at least starting to 'think' about design and what it means to their everyday life.
Dwell has done a good job of promoting reasonable (ok, that's subjective, but it's at least an alternative). I also believe that the prefab market is growing and maturing. People are starting to think it's 'cool', and while fads and trends can be looked down upon, it's a necessary element in marketing alternatives.
Good points about making something 'saleable'. Resale is a huge factor for middle America and catering to the average demands are something that is an important issue. That said, huge homes aren't what people really need, they just see it, the banks lend the money, and they are sucked in. Can't blame people for having bad taste or being naive about alternatives, it took most of us many years to recognized decent design.
It's back to marketing alternatives. Custom one-offs aren't going to ever be monetarily reasonable for most developments or most people, so things will have to accomodate mass production (again, back to the Dwell and prefab, still in its infancy, but maturing rapidly).
Understanding these markets and being in a position to push better design is a risk for a developer, but there are some out there that are recognizing an emerging market of somewhat savvy home buyers is a good thing. It is happening, driven by the potential money to be made with something 'unique'. That could be a good thing, as there won't be anything accomplished on ideals alone.
This whole thing goes way beyond taste... and good and bad architecture... The truth is, the whole Suburb/McMansion/SUV formula is going to be the downfall of the U.S. - and because of its proliferation in places like China and India (have you seen the terrifying photos of the super massive McMansions in those countries?) it's going to be the downfall of Western civilization...
The increasing scarcity of fossil fuels are already pushing gas costs higher and higher. When oil goes to $100/barrel the trickle down is going to push gas costs to $5 a gallon and make every product that people take for granted, like all the crap that lines the shelves of Walmart, triple in price... the have-nots and barely haves in this country are going to freak out. Right now, they're freaking out about $2 a gallon and begging their President Bush to help them by subsidizing oil prices... but just when Bush gets out of office, it's going to come crashing down and it's going to be left to some poor Democrat to try to pick up the pieces...
The least of our problems is going to be the design of houses in the suburbs... it's already too late for that... The real question is, what the fuck are we going to do when all of those millions of fat and happy middle class homeowners start defaulting on their loans because they can't even afford to feed their families...
that article is a socialists wet dream.....prepare for the BRAVE NEW WORLD...he sounds like your typical doomsday (secular) prophit along the line of maulthus
i think the bubble will burst eventually but "neccesity is the mother of invention/inovation"
crap, ether is right, it IS trainspotting. i was thinking of this...
"You buy furniture. You tell yourself, this is the last sofa I will ever need in my life. Buy the sofa, then for a couple years you're satisfied that no matter what goes wrong, at least you've got your sofa issue handled. Then the right set of dishes. Then the perfect bed. The drapes. The rug. Then you're trapped in your lovely nest, and the things you used to own, now they own you."
This is the way people life in Europe now. Small cars, 12 dollars per gallon gas, tiny tiny tiny houses, big macs that cost 8 dollars. I don't think the US will sank so low to the standards of Europe.
1 Ikea did what 30000 architects couldn't do to go the public about modern design.
yes. it is the marketing and the market.
now, go to torrance, california and, design apartments for those who picnic at Ikea on sundays. see how much they will pay for your architecture.
Mc mansions are a perfect fit for the masses at the moment. my sister bought one in sugarland, texas after moving there from rotterdam. she loves it at 200,000 $. gourmet kitchen, his and hers bath fixtures, many bedrooms and double height ceilings, next to an artificial lake with a huge fountain and petalling boats. not to mention the community gym and olympic size pool.
No, i did not worked on one. there are specialist architect sharks in that well connected business who would swallow and spit me out in a jiffy. and there are many architects shomoozing to get their foot in the door as we speak, for a piece o the pie..
i am whithering away with my 'good design minimalist dreams' and always depending on that rare 'good design' educated 'creative and dares to be change' type of client who has little money..
rock and on...
Apr 28, 05 4:38 pm ·
·
IKEA's advertising campaign just before they opened their first US store just outside Philadelphia exactly 20 years ago was very good. All over Philadelphia there were billboards that only depicted:
images of an eye + image of a key + AH!
For at least a month no one in Philly knew what the signs meant. About a week before the store opened, many, many Philadelphia households received an IKEA catalogue in the mail. (I took mine to the bar that night and it was almost eaten alive.)
mcmansions and the american architect
We constantly speak about the proliferation of the mcMansion among the suburbs destroying the culture of architecture in America. Granted the mcMansion for many is the concept of housing in their environment.
Being a non-american and practicising in a very diferent locale I'm curious how many out there do this kind of architecture - willing or not? Come on don't be shy - we know for some its what feeds the kids while we feel the Corbusien soul inside of us burning in a firery pit. Come on confession time again...
i did it for other firms and hated every second of working with that crap that some sheep-style people love. the only thing i "learned" was how to show less really is better once i was on my own. i am better at "anti-mcmansioning" now after being on the dark side while paying my dues.
now i won't touch it as i'm the boss. i'd rather eat rice and beans than compromise my integrity. but, i don't end up eating rice and beans. :)
if all archictects just said no.... but then we still have the yahoo builiders... geez.
Yes McMansions are a cancer, but not the whole problem.
Here in the midwest everything is growing proportionately with the size and popularity of the McMansion.
-Retail stores (big box)
-lot sizes
-lot setbacks
-the tracts of land which are developed all at once by developers
-our cars
-our fat asses
I bet 1% of all construction in this part of the country is done with an architect. You cannot buy a lot and have an architect design a house for you, unless it is 30miles out of town. Developers own all the land, the city council, and may soon have an equal say on the Board of Architects and Engineers, along with Real Estate agents.
But to answer your question, I have not had the privlege to do a McMansion because they don't use architects. Truth be told the office I was working at before they had to let me go (because there is no work for architects) was doing an abortion clinic and a porn shop. Glamorous!
God, get me the hell out of here!!!!!
cool - I'd love to work there
i've done a mortuary and a cemetary (and a prison too) but no porn shop
what about contemporary McMansions, ya'know, the ridiculously sized, socially irresponsible homes produced by the architects with a different canon (not spanish mediterranean or colonial, but still commiting all of the other faults). Meier comes to mind, but so do a slew of other less known modern architects. This is almost no different in my opinion, yet much more tolerated by the architecture community...
the problem is that the mcmansion is the american dream... as much as it pains me to think about living in a mcmansion somewhere in the burbs... for people here in the midwest it's the best thing since budweiser... i would love to see some modern contemporary homes being built here but it's just not possible because of the american mentality. Bigger is better here, quantity over quality, speed over quality... frankly the mcmansion is perfect for america, i think it fits the personality of this country. I doubt i'll ever have to design one since there's a whole standard book of designs that all developers have... copy and paste... copy and paste...
sorry for the rant
but what about the "modern contemporary homes" that are McMansions with a fresher look. I bet architects are much more willing to do these things, in the name of modernism or whatever.
in conversation the other day a friend of mine referred to new urban housing being built as little-mc-mansions, for which I coined the term "white castles"
are they square and delicious?
"sliders"
mmmm.. mmmm.. good
A $30 Rolex is just as good as a $3000 Rolex. You finally get the Mercedes you've always dreamed of and some punk-ass teenagers pull up next to you in next years model. A developer McMansion is every bit as good as an architect designed home because the same gang of Mexicans will build both houses and they have one way of doing things and it is fairly well. Just like your watch is fairly well and your car is fairly well. Las Vegas has constructed more hotel rooms in 10 years than LA has in its entire arsenal. Welcome to a free enterprise free market society. For better or worse McMansions are a democratic institution. Like in Vegas, you walk in and suspend your disbelief long enough to somehow believe that it really is all about you.
The problem is, basically, American's have bad taste. Then there have been the large expanses of land, allow ridiculous suburbs to sprout up where developers could make bigger to attract more people. Now that's just become the norm.
I think there is a big difference between a Meier mansion and a McMansion. As the name suggests, the Mc's are basically rehashed cookie cutter designs. Rehashed from psuedo-Spanish and from down the street. A one-off home, like Meier's Rachowsky house, is a design tailored specifically to the client and site (that's arguable, but they are somewhat). Architecture wouldn't exist without this playground.
The last problem is that most architect's suck as designers. There are tons of unknown great ones, of course, but in general, they are reasponsible for our built environment and it's pretty ugly. Capitalism and gov't also play a part, allowing for massive Wal Marts and ugly designs to go up everywhere.
It's all about consumerism, consumption, egos, and too much bad tv. I guess it always comes back to having bad taste and no interest in learning more about possibilities. Bad taste and laziness pretty much sums it up.
We have the problem around Chicago of McMansions true, but also the tear-down. The teardown is taking an extremely well crafted bungalow of approx 2400 s.f. on well proportioned and wooded lots, and replacing them with lot line to lot line monsters with no character. Worse yet is the land price is so high they build on a tight budget since theres not a whole lot of money left after aquisition. Interestingly enough its architects pushing this. Those "yahoo" builders from the 1920's didnt need such "profesional" direction to build a good product.
MEIER = REHASHED CORBU = "CLEANER" COOKIE CUTTER
Why is it that everyone is talking about the McMansions in the midwest? This is a problem in all of N. America - or the western world for that matter. I've seen massive lots with even more massive catalog house montrosities from Miami to Vancouver, BC - from San Diego to Boston. They are everywhere and I don't see why American architects are always assuming we are the only designers faced with this problem. Granted, it takes a lot more money to build a McMansion in Europe, but I have non-architect friends there, and believe me or not, they want those things too.
They are a ill effect of capatilism and cheap energy. I don't like them just as much as the next architect, but they are pretty much are the housing vernacular now. Then again, celebrated architects like Corbu had ideas for cities of "towers in the park." Someone made a comment about not many good designers out there, right? Maybe that's the underlying problem. Who knows.
Myself, never done a McMansion, but have done a lot of projects that fell into the sprawled built up zone around the McMansions. Guess I'm just as guilty as the next architect.
meir needs to design wal-marts
i think architects are the only people that don't like these "mcmansions"...maybe that says how out of toach we are...comparing reality to the utopias in our head
ideals and ideas to live and die by:
while i don't particularly agree with her aesthetic, i find her anti-big stance spot on.
the mcmansion is not only ugly, but a lot of the space inside goes unused, as it is most often not even spacially considered. sure, there is a lot of space in the 'great room,' but everyone congregates in the kitchen.
oh, its by sarah susanka...
http://www.notsobighouse.com/
Caleb - I couldn't agree more. While Meier makes some beautiful spaces, his responses lack originality and sensitivity to context. Also, he seems more than willing to cater to the elite.
I have seen projects of his across Europe, and for the most part, he does the same thing over and over again. Gehry, on the other hand (whose buildings I am not fond of) has represented throughout his career a continual attempt to explore). If you look at what he did 20 years ago and what he does now, you see a progression, an evolution. I believe this is what he has to teach, and what Meier needs to learn.
I agree that Susanka is "spot on" with her "anti-big stance" and she is able to appeal to the architectural lay person in a easy to understand, non threatening, logical way. Lately when ever a friend asks me to design, wait, let me rephrase, DRAFT, their "dream house", I ask them to read this first. I unfortunatly have drafted plans for friends taken from a plan book (I've just recently decided to stick to my guns and stop this evil practice, I need an AA or something)
A - I am intrigued by the idea of McMansions and other cookie-cutter "styles" being the current vernacular - which by my definition means using local building practices and available materials...if so this is a disturbing but logical offshoot of consumerism and globalization. Lets see what the next twenty or so years means for "vernacular" houses.
If you look at the life cycle of American cities, yesterdays mansions became todays multifamily housing and in some cases back to mansions. Examples would include chicago's neighborhoods and boulevards, Upper west side manhatten, etc. These McMansions could become tomorrows multigenerational housing as boomers will never go quietly into a nursing home. My fear is the pre-engineered structural lumber ie TGI's etc wont be as easily adaptable as conventional stick framing was. We are not leaving "solid" housing stock for the future generations, for whom construction will cost even more.
trace eluded to this regarding taste but the whole "bigger or more is better" syndrome is not limited to housing as most would agree.
the whole massive war-ready SUV craze, the excessive consumersim, obsession with connectivity technology toys, etc. (who REALLY needs to be contacted and connected 7/24/365?) we joke about the Ford SUV's being: escape, explorer, expedition, excursion and the subdivision. comes with your own new zip code.
and you know a large percentage of those living that lifestyle are in debt up to their eyeballs with the fat mortgage, two $800 car payments, lessons in everything for their 2 1/2 kids, blah blah blah...
i think the whole "simplistic living" attitude will have to take hold before the mcmansion fad swings back in the direction of realistic needs vs. showy and big. why drive a reasonable VW wagon when you can re-fi and get matching H2's? http://fuh2.com
a sociologist is needed more than just us insignificant architects to get to the core of this issue.
There will be a backlash sometime in the near future. It's starting to happen, here and there. Energy costs will be a huge factor. Poorly made and over sized leads to losing money, which no one wants.
Celeb - "i think architects are the only people that don't like these "mcmansions"...maybe that says how out of toach we are...comparing reality to the utopias in our head"
No, what it's saying is that people have lousy taste. That our society is driven by mass media, by consumption, by marketing. People like what they see, if they see it over and over - same goes for music.
I agree Meier is not exactly contexually sensitive, but at the same time, some of his buildings are incredibly appropriate. Douglas house? Brilliant. Smith house? Superb in it's setting.
Rehashed Corbu? Somewhat, but only basics. It's a matter of taste, but one thing he did get right was designing things most people like. Catering to the rich? I know of no architect that would not love commissions at the level he gets. I sure would. You work for who you can, very few architect's choose their clients.
i have this arguement with my folks almost everytime i go home. family land where i grew up riding horses, 4-wheeling, camping and hiking are slowly getting carved up into subdivisions that hold these mcmansions/starter homes. it makes me want to cry everytime i drive out there to see my relatives.
basically my parents argue that not everyone can afford an architect to design their home nor does everyone want to live in a 'funky' modern home. i respond by saying that one, not all architects want to put people in 'funky' modern homes and two, consumers have come to understand buying these cookie-cutter houses as the norm, when the norm could be something much better. if the consumer were to demand a better product from the developer/builder/architect then the standard would be raised. instead they can get the room they need, the cute yard and move right in - it's a houme built for the jone's or the smith's. i think it's a simultaneous responsibilty (and i stress this because the responsibility does not fall completely on the consumer) on our part to try and come up with viable solutions and choices for the consumers' needs.
irony: it costs more to design a "minimilistic" modern home then a "cooky cutter" with all their faux gables, and crap
Just a reality check,
Here in Europe you would have to be a millionaire to live in a McMansion and drive an SUV. Even though many Europeans will never trade places with Americans deep down they would love to have a simple walk-in closest, drive the SUV to K-mart and get a large enough parking space in front of the door. McMansions may not be the perfect house in terms of aesthetics, it is a house made for the people and that is what is important. The question is, would you live in a 400,000.00 dollar designed 600 sq.ft house with a small garden in the back or would you live in a 150,000.00 dollar 4000 sq.ft pure American McMansion? Give me a greencard and a McMansion and i'll be happy.
while we might not be to proud of the current standards of middle class living lets not overlook the advancements and appreciate the evolution of the american domestic scene from levytown: were everyhouse was exactly identical, to new urbanists were elements are shared via, medditeranean (stucco, tile roof), craftsman (hardi-plank), to stone etc. and while all of these pathetic examples of design (by our 4-5 yr. educational standards) they are a huge uprade from the typical trailer park. or typical apartment block. Americans are most commonly identified by their individualistic stances, yet conforming aesthetic sense, american subrbs are the physical extention of that spirit.
We probably all know there are two issues here. 1 -Size, shape, type of houses and 2- size, shape, type of subdivision. "Cookie-cutter" isn't nessessarily bad, there is an economy (which is important) to repetition. Part of the evolution of the built environment involves a slow customization of what was once repetition. I think evilplatypus brings up a valid concern about the quality of housing stock and therefore the physical ability to customize it. Also, people are so concerned with "resale value" that it paralysizes their ability to enjoy the space while they are there. (I realize that I am preaching to the choir here)
Not sure where people are getting their numbers from. $150k for 4000 sq/ft? Not anywhere I've lived or visited were things anywhere near that cheap. Where did you say that was again?
One of the problems is that people feel the need to borrow an absurd amount to buy a home. 4000 sq/ft? No one needs that. It's just ridiculous.
irony: it costs more to design a "minimilistic" modern home then a "cooky cutter" with all their faux gables, and crap
Not sure where you are getting your numbers, either, Celeb. The one we are putting up now is $80 per sq/ft. Your numbers are just wrong. Those faux this and that cost $$ that are taken out in other areas. We've chosen to put the $$ where it will be experienced, large windows, quality flooring, passive solar, large roof deck.
I'd argue that we are creating a disaster with the McMansion. New Urbanists, while having some good ideas, are far from ideal or perfect. Progress? I don't see much, on the contrary, I see environmental nightmares with costly highways, etc., and when prices of oil keep going up, these areas will be waste lands as people can't afford them anymore. It's easy to add an addition, but take off part of a house to make it energy efficient?
The only good thing I see is the movement to modernism/minimal homes that a few are pursuing. 4000 sq/ft is absurd for the average family. And if you want that, you should be required to have x amount of open land to go with it. Lofts are another positive area that are helping to densify urban areas and lessen the need for more highways.
trace, those numbers are very relative to the area of the country you are in and due to a number of factors: availiablility of labor (unions, illegal) material, code restrictions property values etc.
one thing u are not taking into account, high gas prices spur new technologies and alternatives ex. hybrid cars have grown 1000% since 1999 and only growing. highways will never go away, they are as american as apple pie. allow for the most freedom of movement possible.
a typical "cooky" cutter here is 55-60 bucks per square ft.
Give me my SUV, give me my 4 car garage attached to a drivit 3 story house that looks colonial, give me my Starbucks grande decaf cappicino, give me my perfect 10X24 green lawn with bball net, 2 oak trees out front, 1 cat, 2 dogs, 2.54 kids, give me liberty!!!! I LOVE the USA
Choose life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family, Choose a fucking big television, Choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players, and electrical tin openers Choose leisure wear and matching luggage. Choose a three piece suite on hire purchase in a range of fucking fabrics. Choose DIY and wondering who you are on a Sunday morning. Choose sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing sprit-crushing game shows, stuffing fucking junk food into your mouth. Choose rotting away at the end of it all, pishing you last in a miserable home, nothing more than an embarrassment to the selfish, fucked-up brats you have spawned to replace yourself. Choose your future. Choose life.
Fergus chooses to live among the Taliban instead. Wash your ass fergus.
i bet fergus secretly chooses heroin too.
The biggest reason that McMansions are so prevalent and popular compared to a house tailor-made to the client by an architect is that the McMansion is easy to turnover and resell. Those looking to buy the house can immediately understand it and its uniformity enables anyone to move in. The tailor-made house needs to find a unique buyer who understands it and can figure out how to adapt their lifestyle to fit it. With all the turnover in today's housing market, this is why the lay person finds the McMansion more appealing.
Hot lay persons are to die for.
Archnrrrd makes a good point. I have some friends in residential real-estate and they continually say that a custom built/architect designed middle class home will not sell. Buyers are scared by something unique that doesn't come from a giant builder, ie Centex, Pulte, etc. I read once that the average American lives in a home only 7 years! Real-estate has become a high turnover business with a lot of money to be had by everyone, except architects, who never really were let into the fold. Assembly line McHouses are probably are the best way to treat our housing stock as a comodity. The irony is that from what I've seen of residential construction lately, I'd be surprised to see new houses built today still standing in 40 years.
the fact that these houses won't last more then 40 yrs is partially by design.....construction industry is a large economic indicater/engine and it has to be kept going. supposedly there are more home owners in america then ever before, those new home owners in their "starter homes" will feel constricted in a few years and need to upgrade to a larger mcmansion.
A, makes a very key observation : "architects, who never really were let into the fold". i think we need to swallow our pretentouse attitides towards middle-class housing and emerse our profesion into it. with our foresite and planning hopefully make suburban/mall america a more tolerable and enviromentally friendly enviroment.
to slay the beast you first most be emersed in it to point out the flaws and make the needed improvments
i'm sure lots have noticed this as well but may of the new tv commercials this past year or two are using clean, mid-century modern homes. have you seen how many times koenig's case study house # 22 is used for "joe public product" print ads and on tv?
if the media has any influence at all as we suspect, this surely should get people seeing "good" design and appreciating a simpler and cleaner aesthetic.
IIRC, fergus was quoting 'fight club'... alluding to the root of the problem: credit. no one could really afford all this excess if it weren't for all of the lending institutions begging americans to borrow money.
actually, it's [url=http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Trainspotting]Trainspotting[url].
crap.
Trainspotting
A's statement about architects not being let into the fold is only partially true. The builders and developers still need an architect to design these "McMansions". I know that at many firms... and sadly at the one I am presently working for... these suburban neighborhood's are just something we spit out, bread and butter, on the side projects to fuel our "real" design projects. Designing one unit at $200 a pop and multiplying it by 100 units is quick and easy revenue for a small architectural firm. Granted, many great architects have tried to solve the cookie cutter/low income housing issue but none have suceeded on a broad (sub)urban scale. Even so, its not a lost cause and I still feel like it really boils down to the integrity of the designer tackling these projects. The demand will never go away so it is up to us to adapt and make the best of it.
I do feel that all is not lost as well. At least there is a growing interest in altrenatives and people are at least starting to 'think' about design and what it means to their everyday life.
Dwell has done a good job of promoting reasonable (ok, that's subjective, but it's at least an alternative). I also believe that the prefab market is growing and maturing. People are starting to think it's 'cool', and while fads and trends can be looked down upon, it's a necessary element in marketing alternatives.
Good points about making something 'saleable'. Resale is a huge factor for middle America and catering to the average demands are something that is an important issue. That said, huge homes aren't what people really need, they just see it, the banks lend the money, and they are sucked in. Can't blame people for having bad taste or being naive about alternatives, it took most of us many years to recognized decent design.
It's back to marketing alternatives. Custom one-offs aren't going to ever be monetarily reasonable for most developments or most people, so things will have to accomodate mass production (again, back to the Dwell and prefab, still in its infancy, but maturing rapidly).
Understanding these markets and being in a position to push better design is a risk for a developer, but there are some out there that are recognizing an emerging market of somewhat savvy home buyers is a good thing. It is happening, driven by the potential money to be made with something 'unique'. That could be a good thing, as there won't be anything accomplished on ideals alone.
This whole thing goes way beyond taste... and good and bad architecture... The truth is, the whole Suburb/McMansion/SUV formula is going to be the downfall of the U.S. - and because of its proliferation in places like China and India (have you seen the terrifying photos of the super massive McMansions in those countries?) it's going to be the downfall of Western civilization...
The increasing scarcity of fossil fuels are already pushing gas costs higher and higher. When oil goes to $100/barrel the trickle down is going to push gas costs to $5 a gallon and make every product that people take for granted, like all the crap that lines the shelves of Walmart, triple in price... the have-nots and barely haves in this country are going to freak out. Right now, they're freaking out about $2 a gallon and begging their President Bush to help them by subsidizing oil prices... but just when Bush gets out of office, it's going to come crashing down and it's going to be left to some poor Democrat to try to pick up the pieces...
The least of our problems is going to be the design of houses in the suburbs... it's already too late for that... The real question is, what the fuck are we going to do when all of those millions of fat and happy middle class homeowners start defaulting on their loans because they can't even afford to feed their families...
READ THIS ARTICLE > The Long Emergency (from Rolling Stone)
that article is a socialists wet dream.....prepare for the BRAVE NEW WORLD...he sounds like your typical doomsday (secular) prophit along the line of maulthus
i think the bubble will burst eventually but "neccesity is the mother of invention/inovation"
crap, ether is right, it IS trainspotting. i was thinking of this...
"You buy furniture. You tell yourself, this is the last sofa I will ever need in my life. Buy the sofa, then for a couple years you're satisfied that no matter what goes wrong, at least you've got your sofa issue handled. Then the right set of dishes. Then the perfect bed. The drapes. The rug. Then you're trapped in your lovely nest, and the things you used to own, now they own you."
This is the way people life in Europe now. Small cars, 12 dollars per gallon gas, tiny tiny tiny houses, big macs that cost 8 dollars. I don't think the US will sank so low to the standards of Europe.
1 Ikea did what 30000 architects couldn't do to go the public about modern design.
yes. it is the marketing and the market.
now, go to torrance, california and, design apartments for those who picnic at Ikea on sundays. see how much they will pay for your architecture.
Mc mansions are a perfect fit for the masses at the moment. my sister bought one in sugarland, texas after moving there from rotterdam. she loves it at 200,000 $. gourmet kitchen, his and hers bath fixtures, many bedrooms and double height ceilings, next to an artificial lake with a huge fountain and petalling boats. not to mention the community gym and olympic size pool.
No, i did not worked on one. there are specialist architect sharks in that well connected business who would swallow and spit me out in a jiffy. and there are many architects shomoozing to get their foot in the door as we speak, for a piece o the pie..
i am whithering away with my 'good design minimalist dreams' and always depending on that rare 'good design' educated 'creative and dares to be change' type of client who has little money..
rock and on...
IKEA's advertising campaign just before they opened their first US store just outside Philadelphia exactly 20 years ago was very good. All over Philadelphia there were billboards that only depicted:
images of an eye + image of a key + AH!
For at least a month no one in Philly knew what the signs meant. About a week before the store opened, many, many Philadelphia households received an IKEA catalogue in the mail. (I took mine to the bar that night and it was almost eaten alive.)
Opening day at IKEA USA was a huge success.
Block this user
Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?
Archinect
This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.