How do we elevate the "average"? As we all know, the most pervasive condition is also the one least engaged. I am talking suburban homes, strip malls, pocket parks, and all the everyday things that actually cover the majority of the landscape...museums and sports stadiums matter to the 99% about as much as the occasional trip to Disneyland.
Lets talk about architect as developer, stock plans, pre-fab, and other non-conventional ways of engaging these things.
JLC-1
Dec 31, 15 11:26 am
I think for most people it comes down to where is the safest place with the best school for my kids and isn't too far away from my job. Oh and how much can I get when I sell my house.
Exactly! for us, it's up in the mountains of Colorado, 3 hour drive from/to Denver, and the "average" architecture is pretty good..... Happy New Year!
StarchitectAlpha
Dec 31, 15 12:17 pm
What you think is good design is different than what other people think. Since shopping centers and homes are meant to appeal to a broad general audience you get faux Spanish in the southwest and some rehash of colonial everywhere else. It's like the music on the radio it's meant to appeal to the broadest market possible so you don't alienate two thirds of your market by designing for a niche market. Our housing has been resuced to location location location location.
JLC-1
Dec 31, 15 12:21 pm
^I was in Phoenix in 2004, the mantra was "drive until you qualify", unhealthy and proved wrong.
Miles Jaffe
Dec 31, 15 1:13 pm
shopping centers and homes are meant to appeal to a broad general audience
Shopping centers are designed to appeal to potential tenants, not shoppers. Housing is designed specifically for niche markets defined by price. Consumer goods and movies are designed for broad general audiences.
StarchitectAlpha
Dec 31, 15 1:40 pm
Potential tenants want it to appeal to shoppers. Thats why hospitality, mall developers and housing developers talk of appealing to millennial lifestyles and in the south west at least, appealing to the Hispanic population. All about reaching the broadest market across multiple age groups. How do we make a housing development for blah income, multiple age groups and not have a bunch of people say hmmm those condos are ugly or that mall is weird, you give them vanilla design that doesn't excite or offend anyone. It's you elevator music for the built environment.
Miles Jaffe
Dec 31, 15 2:52 pm
Tenants aren't designing buildings for rental income.
WTF is a 'millennial' lifestyle - aside from an age demographic with ever decreasing purchasing power?
Carrera
Dec 31, 15 3:01 pm
^^Think the elevator music analogy nails it….this country is transfixed on not “offending” anybody, but nobody worries about “annoying” everybody.
As architects we grow up with the hope of changing the world in some way and get our leash’s wrapped around trees needlessly, happens to me often, but as Miles has reminded me more than once, it’s a matter of being a world of one…doing the right thing yourself, regardless of what others do…do good and tune out the static because the static will keep you from doing good.
How do we elevate the "average"? As we all know, the most pervasive condition is also the one least engaged. I am talking suburban homes, strip malls, pocket parks, and all the everyday things that actually cover the majority of the landscape...museums and sports stadiums matter to the 99% about as much as the occasional trip to Disneyland.
Lets talk about architect as developer, stock plans, pre-fab, and other non-conventional ways of engaging these things.
I think for most people it comes down to where is the safest place with the best school for my kids and isn't too far away from my job. Oh and how much can I get when I sell my house.
Exactly! for us, it's up in the mountains of Colorado, 3 hour drive from/to Denver, and the "average" architecture is pretty good..... Happy New Year!
What you think is good design is different than what other people think. Since shopping centers and homes are meant to appeal to a broad general audience you get faux Spanish in the southwest and some rehash of colonial everywhere else. It's like the music on the radio it's meant to appeal to the broadest market possible so you don't alienate two thirds of your market by designing for a niche market. Our housing has been resuced to location location location location.
^I was in Phoenix in 2004, the mantra was "drive until you qualify", unhealthy and proved wrong.
shopping centers and homes are meant to appeal to a broad general audience
Shopping centers are designed to appeal to potential tenants, not shoppers. Housing is designed specifically for niche markets defined by price. Consumer goods and movies are designed for broad general audiences.
Potential tenants want it to appeal to shoppers. Thats why hospitality, mall developers and housing developers talk of appealing to millennial lifestyles and in the south west at least, appealing to the Hispanic population. All about reaching the broadest market across multiple age groups. How do we make a housing development for blah income, multiple age groups and not have a bunch of people say hmmm those condos are ugly or that mall is weird, you give them vanilla design that doesn't excite or offend anyone. It's you elevator music for the built environment.
Tenants aren't designing buildings for rental income.
WTF is a 'millennial' lifestyle - aside from an age demographic with ever decreasing purchasing power?
^^Think the elevator music analogy nails it….this country is transfixed on not “offending” anybody, but nobody worries about “annoying” everybody.
As architects we grow up with the hope of changing the world in some way and get our leash’s wrapped around trees needlessly, happens to me often, but as Miles has reminded me more than once, it’s a matter of being a world of one…doing the right thing yourself, regardless of what others do…do good and tune out the static because the static will keep you from doing good.