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Never heard of McMansion Hell before, but went back and checked it out on Google Cache and it just seems mean spirited. Why should anyone care what sort of hous

Never heard of McMansion Hell before, but went back and checked it out on Google Cache and it just seems mean spirited. Why should anyone care what sort of house people choose to build, buy or live in? Reminds me of the people that couldn't handle an old lady's earnest Olive Garden review a few years back. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ann-brenoff/olive-garden-reviewer-is-media-star_b_1334736.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ann-brenoff/olive-garden-revie...

blakes 9y ago
I think of architecture a little bit like art, and that some art is "bad" and some is "good". I feel like there are certain rules or techniques in say, painting, that if one follows, can contribute to the art being perceived as "good". When you combine rules or techniques and it is poorly executed, the art may be perceived as "bad". Seems to be the same with architecture. Seems to me that Kate is an art critic of sorts. A very specific one.
- dagw 9y ago
  That is one dimension of architecture and architecture criticism. The other is if the building is actually fit for purpose. Personally I wish more architecture criticism would focus on the intended use of the building and how well it achieves that. At the end of the day buildings aren't land art.
  - cratermoon 9y ago
    Utilitarianism in architecture: Form ever follows function^1 1 https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/architecture/4-205-analysis-of-contemporary-architecture-fall-2009/readings/MIT4_205F09_Sullivan.pdf https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/architecture/4-205-analysis-of-c...
jasondemeuse 9y ago
>Why should anyone care what sort of house people choose to build, buy or live in? Maybe because that's what she is knowledgable in, and she wants to point out bad practices in the industry she's involved in, or because they make expensive houses with cheap products that are only built to resell as opposed to have someone actually live there for an extended period of time? Look, these things might not mean anything to you (or me for that matter), or ever have a real effect on you and that's fine, but you really can't imagine why such poor practices might annoy someone whose career is based around knowing not to do these things that are so prevalent? Do you think subreddits like /r/programminghorror are mean spirited? If someone posted a snippet with 1000 cases in a switch statement, would you say "Why should anyone care what sort of sort of code people choose to write or use in production?" I don't see how that is any different than this, or how calling out bad practices with broad strokes is a mean thing to do.
- peacetreefrog 9y ago
  My impression of this blog isn't it's constructive (though I suppose if you just do the opposite of what she's ripping on it could be) but it's definitely not calling out bad practices with broad strokes. It's calling out individual homes (with pictures) that actual people live in presumably because that's what they decided they liked. I hadn't seen /r/programminghorror before either. I think if you could pretty easily tie the code samples back to the programmer who wrote it and it was that snarky, that yes it'd be mean spirited. And -- while I enjoy elegant code too -- I don't think I would care what other people choose to use or write in production, provided I didn't hire them, have to work with them, or it was bad enough to affect the product I was using.
  - dionidium 9y ago
    "presumably because that's what they decided they liked" Not all opinions are created equal. They may have liked it, but it's this blog's assertion that they're wrong. Best of all, most of us not in the field will learn something new from the descriptions of why they're wrong.
pbhjpbhj 9y ago
Well they do care. Why do you care that they do? Answer that question and you've come at least half way - probably much closer - to answering your own one.
- peacetreefrog 9y ago
  I respect that people have different views, including on things like whether the look/inefficient functionality of someone else's house means they should be publicly shamed. I guess what it comes down to: to me, it's more jarring to see many people here going against "live and let live" ethos (even if it's in an ugly house), than it is to see these houses themselves. But of course, you're right, the McMansion Hell blogger is free to do what she wants too. I just think it's mean spirited is all.

blakes 9y ago

I think of architecture a little bit like art, and that some art is "bad" and some is "good". I feel like there are certain rules or techniques in say, painting, that if one follows, can contribute to the art being perceived as "good". When you combine rules or techniques and it is poorly executed, the art may be perceived as "bad". Seems to be the same with architecture. Seems to me that Kate is an art critic of sorts. A very specific one.

dagw 9y ago
That is one dimension of architecture and architecture criticism. The other is if the building is actually fit for purpose. Personally I wish more architecture criticism would focus on the intended use of the building and how well it achieves that. At the end of the day buildings aren't land art.
- cratermoon 9y ago
  Utilitarianism in architecture: Form ever follows function^1 1 https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/architecture/4-205-analysis-of-contemporary-architecture-fall-2009/readings/MIT4_205F09_Sullivan.pdf https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/architecture/4-205-analysis-of-c...

jasondemeuse 9y ago

>Why should anyone care what sort of house people choose to build, buy or live in? Maybe because that's what she is knowledgable in, and she wants to point out bad practices in the industry she's involved in, or because they make expensive houses with cheap products that are only built to resell as opposed to have someone actually live there for an extended period of time? Look, these things might not mean anything to you (or me for that matter), or ever have a real effect on you and that's fine, but you really can't imagine why such poor practices might annoy someone whose career is based around knowing not to do these things that are so prevalent? Do you think subreddits like /r/programminghorror are mean spirited? If someone posted a snippet with 1000 cases in a switch statement, would you say "Why should anyone care what sort of sort of code people choose to write or use in production?" I don't see how that is any different than this, or how calling out bad practices with broad strokes is a mean thing to do.

peacetreefrog 9y ago
My impression of this blog isn't it's constructive (though I suppose if you just do the opposite of what she's ripping on it could be) but it's definitely not calling out bad practices with broad strokes. It's calling out individual homes (with pictures) that actual people live in presumably because that's what they decided they liked. I hadn't seen /r/programminghorror before either. I think if you could pretty easily tie the code samples back to the programmer who wrote it and it was that snarky, that yes it'd be mean spirited. And -- while I enjoy elegant code too -- I don't think I would care what other people choose to use or write in production, provided I didn't hire them, have to work with them, or it was bad enough to affect the product I was using.
- dionidium 9y ago
  "presumably because that's what they decided they liked" Not all opinions are created equal. They may have liked it, but it's this blog's assertion that they're wrong. Best of all, most of us not in the field will learn something new from the descriptions of why they're wrong.

pbhjpbhj 9y ago

Well they do care. Why do you care that they do? Answer that question and you've come at least half way - probably much closer - to answering your own one.

peacetreefrog 9y ago
I respect that people have different views, including on things like whether the look/inefficient functionality of someone else's house means they should be publicly shamed. I guess what it comes down to: to me, it's more jarring to see many people here going against "live and let live" ethos (even if it's in an ugly house), than it is to see these houses themselves. But of course, you're right, the McMansion Hell blogger is free to do what she wants too. I just think it's mean spirited is all.