5 ms·

The ultimate NIMBYs. The same people that are responsible for the many uncertainties multinational corporations bring and therefore stimulate the dangerous popu

The ultimate NIMBYs. The same people that are responsible for the many uncertainties multinational corporations bring and therefore stimulate the dangerous populism in this global age now go to Queenstown, have a pint and wait for this to all blow over. Money does not buy style if you see all those new houses by the way...

tluyben2 10y ago
> Money does not buy style if you see all those new houses by the way... Always thought it must be something with my taste but every time I see houses by 'the (super) rich' I think; why didn't you hire an actual talented architect?
- michael_h 10y ago
  What? You don't like columns?! Columns everywhere! What enormous weight are they lending their support to keep aloft? Why, it's THE EAVES! Those immeasurably heavy goliaths of the architectural world. Here come the roof ridges!!
  - harveywi 10y ago
    > What? You don't like columns?! Columns everywhere! Form follows function when you're a fifth column.
- colanderman 10y ago
  You might like (or already be aware of) this blog: http://www.mcmansionhell.com/ http://www.mcmansionhell.com/
- cafard 10y ago
  Builders love the style because big is cheaper than good. I suppose that the really rich may like big over good style because it makes its point so obviously.
- jonnathanson 10y ago
  There's a method to the McMansion madness: the houses are designed in a sort of modular style that assumes the owners will regularly reconfigure and remodel to keep up with the latest trends. Kitchen out of date? Gut the kitchen module and replace the parts. Home theaters are out, and home gyms are in? Gut the theater module and reconfigure it into a gym. Sticks-and-drywall construction can be demolished and rebuilt in practically a day. Room "pods" can be torn down, merged, or separated at will, with little impact on the livability of the rest of the house. There's a lot more (ostensible) flexibility in an amorphous blob of room modules than there is in attempting to maintain a coherent, symmetrical, balanced architecture. The traditional house is a fixture; the McMansion is a living, changing, multicellular organism. McMansion developers aren't selling houses; they're selling services. All of this runs parallel to, and feeds off of, the macro-social trend favoring interiors over exteriors. People care more about kitchen appliances and countertop surfaces than they do about architecture. It's crass, tasteless, and economically silly. But it's the prevailing culture. And it's designed to keep selling things.
  - ska 10y ago
    McMansions aren't bought by the rich. Mansions are. McMansions are an exercise in echoing certain features of the latter on the cheap, but they are primarily an embodiment of social positioning within the upper middle class.
    - hexane360 10y ago
      Someone who can afford a McMansion is definitely rich, even by American standards. As I posted elsewhere: http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/07/16/are-you-in-the-global-middle-class-find-out-with-our-income-calculator/ http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/07/16/are-you-in-t... $80,000 USD / 4 people in America is the lower bound of high income.
      - ska 10y ago
        You are comparing apples and oranges. That pew study is income relative to worldwide range, which is fairly pointless in this context. Nobody is talking about upper/middle class boundaries in these terms, and McMansions are largely a US (North American?) phenomena. Any family in the US with a very low six figure household income (or even a very high five figure) can choose to finance a McMansion. They are not rich by US standards.
- AnimalMuppet 10y ago
  Money doesn't give you taste. Neither does architectural talent. (Architectural talent, without taste, gives you "let's see what's the craziest thing I can build that won't fall down". The talent is shown by the building not falling down.)
  - briandear 10y ago
    Zara Hadid proved that point brilliantly with the new Antwerp fire station -- a €55 million monstrosity. The sad part is that the taxpayers got to foot the bill.
    - AnimalMuppet 10y ago
      55 million euros for a fire station? I'd fire the architect for the cost alone, never mind what it looks like.
- 0xfeba 10y ago
  Because McMansions are cheaper per sq. ft.? https://goo.gl/maps/7a8oygnoyzr https://goo.gl/maps/7a8oygnoyzr
- eli_gottlieb 10y ago
  I mean, why not just buy/build a smaller, more normal house and leave more land for gardens and lawns?
  - wyclif 10y ago
    Because somebody has to maintain the gardens and lawns, and if you're a two-earner couple you may not have time for that.
vaishaksuresh 10y ago
This is true about a lot of expensive things. Richard Mille watches (http://richardmille.com http://richardmille.com) for example look like cheap watches.

tluyben2 10y ago

> Money does not buy style if you see all those new houses by the way... Always thought it must be something with my taste but every time I see houses by 'the (super) rich' I think; why didn't you hire an actual talented architect?

michael_h 10y ago
What? You don't like columns?! Columns everywhere! What enormous weight are they lending their support to keep aloft? Why, it's THE EAVES! Those immeasurably heavy goliaths of the architectural world. Here come the roof ridges!!
- harveywi 10y ago
  > What? You don't like columns?! Columns everywhere! Form follows function when you're a fifth column.
colanderman 10y ago
You might like (or already be aware of) this blog: http://www.mcmansionhell.com/ http://www.mcmansionhell.com/
cafard 10y ago
Builders love the style because big is cheaper than good. I suppose that the really rich may like big over good style because it makes its point so obviously.
jonnathanson 10y ago
There's a method to the McMansion madness: the houses are designed in a sort of modular style that assumes the owners will regularly reconfigure and remodel to keep up with the latest trends. Kitchen out of date? Gut the kitchen module and replace the parts. Home theaters are out, and home gyms are in? Gut the theater module and reconfigure it into a gym. Sticks-and-drywall construction can be demolished and rebuilt in practically a day. Room "pods" can be torn down, merged, or separated at will, with little impact on the livability of the rest of the house. There's a lot more (ostensible) flexibility in an amorphous blob of room modules than there is in attempting to maintain a coherent, symmetrical, balanced architecture. The traditional house is a fixture; the McMansion is a living, changing, multicellular organism. McMansion developers aren't selling houses; they're selling services. All of this runs parallel to, and feeds off of, the macro-social trend favoring interiors over exteriors. People care more about kitchen appliances and countertop surfaces than they do about architecture. It's crass, tasteless, and economically silly. But it's the prevailing culture. And it's designed to keep selling things.
- ska 10y ago
  McMansions aren't bought by the rich. Mansions are. McMansions are an exercise in echoing certain features of the latter on the cheap, but they are primarily an embodiment of social positioning within the upper middle class.
  - hexane360 10y ago
    Someone who can afford a McMansion is definitely rich, even by American standards. As I posted elsewhere: http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/07/16/are-you-in-the-global-middle-class-find-out-with-our-income-calculator/ http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/07/16/are-you-in-t... $80,000 USD / 4 people in America is the lower bound of high income.
    - ska 10y ago
      You are comparing apples and oranges. That pew study is income relative to worldwide range, which is fairly pointless in this context. Nobody is talking about upper/middle class boundaries in these terms, and McMansions are largely a US (North American?) phenomena. Any family in the US with a very low six figure household income (or even a very high five figure) can choose to finance a McMansion. They are not rich by US standards.
AnimalMuppet 10y ago
Money doesn't give you taste. Neither does architectural talent. (Architectural talent, without taste, gives you "let's see what's the craziest thing I can build that won't fall down". The talent is shown by the building not falling down.)
- briandear 10y ago
  Zara Hadid proved that point brilliantly with the new Antwerp fire station -- a €55 million monstrosity. The sad part is that the taxpayers got to foot the bill.
  - AnimalMuppet 10y ago
    55 million euros for a fire station? I'd fire the architect for the cost alone, never mind what it looks like.
0xfeba 10y ago
Because McMansions are cheaper per sq. ft.? https://goo.gl/maps/7a8oygnoyzr https://goo.gl/maps/7a8oygnoyzr
eli_gottlieb 10y ago
I mean, why not just buy/build a smaller, more normal house and leave more land for gardens and lawns?
- wyclif 10y ago
  Because somebody has to maintain the gardens and lawns, and if you're a two-earner couple you may not have time for that.

vaishaksuresh 10y ago

This is true about a lot of expensive things. Richard Mille watches (http://richardmille.com http://richardmille.com) for example look like cheap watches.