I saw these guys building very affordable contemporary units http://www.planetgreenergy.com/kissimmee/ and it just made me think - indeed its possible to mass produce contemporary but affordable houses. I was told that the demand wasn't there but I can't help but disagree since no builder have tried doing it anyway. We have come a long way from the arts and crafts movement but never moved on- well, here in Florida at least.
senjohnblutarsky
Apr 26, 16 1:20 pm
Front page of the website doesn't look like they're building them... looks like renderings of second year models.
Non Sequitur
Apr 26, 16 1:53 pm
Renderings look super shitty and the space planning is awkward.
shellarchitect
Apr 26, 16 2:42 pm
"...no builder has tried..." not really true, foremost in my mind is mies's Lafayette park in detroit.
Since most of these projects are financed by bankers who are renowned for their tiny testes, lack of foresight, and fear of risk, any deviation from most tried and true designs is very difficult
JLC-1
Apr 26, 16 2:45 pm
because they stack them in apartment buildings to take in the views of disneyworld, the happiest place in the world!!
curtkram
Apr 26, 16 2:52 pm
i love the panoramic roof in the black car.
Josh Mings
Apr 26, 16 4:19 pm
Yes, this house will be Netzero and it has a huge garage for your Hummer!
chris-chitect
Apr 26, 16 8:06 pm
In the Contempo 1575 you can almost see the toilet from the kitchen sink. A dining room is also not a foyer.
The site plan doesn't look that appealing either. For something that should be environmentally friendly, the turning radii of the curves are huge and don't look suitable for pedestrians.
,,,,
Apr 26, 16 8:33 pm
Dollars to donuts it is 1-coat stucco.
cipyboy
Apr 26, 16 10:47 pm
its not really something perfect but, hey, someone has to start somewhere and hopefully this will snowball and eventually mature to better designs at least...
Josh Mings
Apr 26, 16 11:39 pm
Except it won't mature to better designs. That's why you seem variations on the same house in every suburb.
chris-chitect
Apr 27, 16 3:17 am
As pessimistic as it sounds, most people just don't want these designs. Before I went to architecture school, I thought I had a clever idea to create contemporary, modern manufactured/modular homes that could bring good design to the masses. Of course there was an entire industry out there doing this already. Except they struggle and have never achieved the saturation that the more bland and traditional designs have.
geezertect
Apr 27, 16 9:33 am
There are a handful of builders here that are starting to play with "modern" architecture. Most of them are pretty bad but maybe some good will come of it. Most production stuff is still the standard issue "traditional" shit. Modern trophy houses will eventually influence the lower rungs of the market.
I'm confused about the pricing. These aren't for completed homes on plots of land, but just for the construction alone?
If so, Solaire is not much to look at for just under a million regardless of what they put in it.
wurdan freo
Apr 28, 16 10:46 pm
Blu was started by an architect and originally tried to target all markets. They found their price point only made sense on the high end. And that market has been buying their product. 50 million in sales last year?
They ran into trouble with their site construction service, but sounds like they've been figuring it out.
Don't let anyone tell you prefab is cheaper than site built. Better quality control... yes... faster.. typically, but not cheaper.
I saw these guys building very affordable contemporary units http://www.planetgreenergy.com/kissimmee/ and it just made me think - indeed its possible to mass produce contemporary but affordable houses. I was told that the demand wasn't there but I can't help but disagree since no builder have tried doing it anyway. We have come a long way from the arts and crafts movement but never moved on- well, here in Florida at least.
Front page of the website doesn't look like they're building them... looks like renderings of second year models.
Renderings look super shitty and the space planning is awkward.
"...no builder has tried..." not really true, foremost in my mind is mies's Lafayette park in detroit.
Since most of these projects are financed by bankers who are renowned for their tiny testes, lack of foresight, and fear of risk, any deviation from most tried and true designs is very difficult
because they stack them in apartment buildings to take in the views of disneyworld, the happiest place in the world!!
i love the panoramic roof in the black car.
Yes, this house will be Netzero and it has a huge garage for your Hummer!
In the Contempo 1575 you can almost see the toilet from the kitchen sink. A dining room is also not a foyer.
The site plan doesn't look that appealing either. For something that should be environmentally friendly, the turning radii of the curves are huge and don't look suitable for pedestrians.
Dollars to donuts it is 1-coat stucco.
its not really something perfect but, hey, someone has to start somewhere and hopefully this will snowball and eventually mature to better designs at least...
Except it won't mature to better designs. That's why you seem variations on the same house in every suburb.
As pessimistic as it sounds, most people just don't want these designs. Before I went to architecture school, I thought I had a clever idea to create contemporary, modern manufactured/modular homes that could bring good design to the masses. Of course there was an entire industry out there doing this already. Except they struggle and have never achieved the saturation that the more bland and traditional designs have.
There are a handful of builders here that are starting to play with "modern" architecture. Most of them are pretty bad but maybe some good will come of it. Most production stuff is still the standard issue "traditional" shit. Modern trophy houses will eventually influence the lower rungs of the market.
https://www.bluhomes.com/?
I'm confused about the pricing. These aren't for completed homes on plots of land, but just for the construction alone?
If so, Solaire is not much to look at for just under a million regardless of what they put in it.
Blu was started by an architect and originally tried to target all markets. They found their price point only made sense on the high end. And that market has been buying their product. 50 million in sales last year? They ran into trouble with their site construction service, but sounds like they've been figuring it out. Don't let anyone tell you prefab is cheaper than site built. Better quality control... yes... faster.. typically, but not cheaper.