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clever homes - or not?

Brim

Saw this ad for "clever homes" in Dwell? Checked out the website: http://www.cleverhousing.com - What do you all make of this? Is this a developer trying to tap a mass produced "modern" house market? I think they'r emissing the boat design wise? Any thought?

 
Aug 8, 04 11:41 pm
uneDITed

so 'clever' is a dumbed down mechanical version of 'intelligent'? :)
Typical.
A clever person is uneducated, street-wise, handy,sharp (working class)..
An intelligent person is always educated,intellectual (middle class and above)..

And when someone is intelligent and comes from a clever background..we pave way for sweet sweet revenge on those richer than us. So, all those soaps/films where a poor student starts attending a school/college/university for rich kids ... is thoroughly humiliated and then at the end..the twist (only its been twisted so many times its folds have fused into the canon)..revenge, poor student transforms from ugly duckling to Odette and shits on the rich kids' heads.

Aug 9, 04 9:20 am  · 
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Brim

hmm...for lack of better term, it seems cheap to me. No better than those pre-designed home plans for sale in paper magazines: cheap.

Aug 9, 04 6:29 pm  · 
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beatmeofficer

so if you are over-educated and work for less than a carpenter's wages, what class are you??

Aug 9, 04 6:35 pm  · 
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bigness

if you paint it gray, ch8 looks like the H&DM family house (circa 1995)

Aug 9, 04 7:23 pm  · 
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A

I am delighted to see that the designs aren't "terrible" and I do like the functionality of the system. What's wrong with a home that can easily change for a families changing needs? With minimal waste it seems to be a green alternative to the very unenvironmental suburban spec home. The durability can't be worse than the modest priced spec homes I've seen.

This could also be an option for lower income housing that is affordable and adaptable to changing socio-economic and community needs.

Personally I think it is time for the single family wood stick framed house to die. I doubt this can take it's place but could be an option amongst other superior alternatives.

Aug 9, 04 9:32 pm  · 
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abracadabra

for me, ch8 is the winner.the rest, hmmm, too clever..

Aug 9, 04 9:56 pm  · 
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c.k.

yeah, maybe they come cheap, and then it could be an alternative for affordable housing.
but if you look at the plans, it's just a mobile home that takes itself too seriously.

Aug 10, 04 12:13 am  · 
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kakacabeza

Since I work around neo-traditional French country colonial homes all day, anything different is a breath of fresh air. These homes don't address a host of problems with the built environment, but at least they pose an alternative to the cookie cutter neo-traditional stick house, and the promise that they can be built for less. Although I wish all cookie cutter subdivisions and mobile home parks would drop off the face of the planet, I'd rather see a community of these than the current alternative.

Aug 10, 04 12:24 pm  · 
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kakacabeza

Although the name "Clever Homes" has got to go.

Aug 10, 04 12:27 pm  · 
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enzo76

As easy as it is to bag on whatever graces the threads of archinect, American suburbia could use a few more companies such as these. Given the crap that we know is now carpeting our landscape (no offense kakacabeza), at least someone is trying to come up with something that appeals to the "typical" homebuyer. Marketing architecture as a product is pretty offensive, and of course most designers can see through the kitch references in the work, but maybe baby steps will lead to a public that one day values design. In my opinion we're already enjoying a time when design sorta matters (ie Dwell, all those stupid "design" tv shows, the home improvement phenomenon). It's up to us to take advantage of that and promote real design.

Let's see "CH8" up next to "The Tamarak" houses in our fair pink stucco suburbias before poo-pooing it. I'd be more inclined to improve upon and compete with Clever Homes than simply dismiss it.

Aug 10, 04 4:18 pm  · 
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