The aptly named "McMansionhell" tumblr has taken the time to carefully note just what makes a McMansion an ugly, terrible, no good architectural atrocity. Skipping over frothy diatribe and going straight into meticulous point by point dissection, the tumblr notes that McMansions fail in four key areas: Masses & Voids, Balance, Proportion, and crucially, Rhythm. "McMansions lack architectural rhythm," the tumblr states, using slidetool graphics to help you wince and blanch in an informed way (as opposed to just experiencing an overpowering visceral dislike each time you pass one on the street).
Other ugly building news:
17 Comments
That ignores the main reason to hate mcmansions, doesn't it? The fact that they're owned by people with higher incomes?
Thayer-D, dinner is ready!
How is it all criticism regardless of who/what it's directed to is immediately chalked up to jealousy/envy by some here? Sure McMansions can be expensive, admit it though they're the contemporary ranch style of today's suburbia, but architecturally/aesthetically they're absolute dross.
Deconstructing the Houses from Michael Jantzen!
http://archinect.com/michael-jantzen/project/deconstructing-the-houses
The graphics on that blog are worse than a true Mcmansion. Pointless and unfounded critique on garbage using arbitrary principles as a basis. Giant jerk off exercise.
I bet I can guess who's designed a McMansion by the tone of the comments in this thread.
Mr. Wiggins,
McMansion ≠ Ranch Style
If you want to see ranch style and I mean the real deal.... look up Cliff May's work. That's Ranch style. I see a modern or contemporary ranch style to be basically ranch style with some contemporary touches of new materials and flair but still built on the foundation of Cliff May and those like him had established.
You know nothing Rick Snow.
tduds your mom designed a mcmansion
or
or
or
or a wide range of other works of Cliff May or some of these other modern ranch style homes such as
I would know what a ranch style home looks like. While I lived in one which was more of a modest suburban tract version of them when I lived in Los Angeles area which was built in early 1950s (based on LA County Assessors records)
Rick, good job getting fixated on a metaphor.
or
or
or
or a wide range of other works of Cliff May or some of these other modern ranch style homes such as
I would know what a ranch style home looks like. While I lived in one which was more of a modest suburban tract version of them when I lived in Los Angeles area which was built in early 1950s (based on LA County Assessors records)
Somehow, the not-equal did not appear as it was suppose to in the first copy of the post. So this should not work.
E_I,
Rick, good job getting fixated on a metaphor.
LOL.... Maybe.
These houses are hideous, no doubt. I've corrected countless of these monstrocities. How to take four gables off and wipe half of the plastic trim away? You need to understand the needs and aspirations of the people who are paying for them rather than simply laughing it off. Also, it never hurts to study architectural composition again, something they stopped doing after World War Two. But everybody already knows this.
Thayer-D,
Client is:
but the client thinks and aspires to be:
or if the above doesn't cut it... one image does:
The client is the person on left but the client aspires and pictures himself as the man on right.
BUT to us the client is:
or
(Walking boulder carrying load of problems)
or if we are really annoyed:
and we always wish we can do this to the client:
(Always imagining ourselves in a slick debonair outfit)
but in reality we are mostly a bunch of:
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