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First comment from my partner was “I don’t know if this is the Parasite house of an Apple Store” :-). But really, so many weird decisions here that make no sen

First comment from my partner was “I don’t know if this is the Parasite house of an Apple Store” :-). But really, so many weird decisions here that make no sense: why would you put your kid’s bed next to your bedroom in a new build? Why the bathrooms next to the bedrooms for your kid? Why cement floors and no floor heating? How did you end up at 400A/96kw of service (my car charges slower than that!). Why not building a indoor pool instead of a outdoor one? Feels a lot like your architect and contractors saw you had too much tech money and not enough common sense. That, and the fake pretending to care about the environment when you live in the middle of nowhere and have a heated outdoor pool with 96kw of service in Canada is just astounding!

carabiner 5y ago
It's the REI HQ: https://www.geekwire.com/2020/facebook-buys-reis-new-hq-367m-expanding-seattle-area-footprint-3m-square-feet/ https://www.geekwire.com/2020/facebook-buys-reis-new-hq-367m...
glxxyz 5y ago
That exposed wood with no rain protection will age terribly. I've seen quite a few houses for sale with this sort of design that probably looked good new too.
- m_ke 5y ago
  That's not true, if you have spacers behind the wood it should dry properly and last a long time. See https://www.buildingscience.com/documents/insights/bsi-001-the-perfect-wall https://www.buildingscience.com/documents/insights/bsi-001-t...
  - turtlebits 5y ago
    Without overhangs and gutters, you are going to have a lot more water exposure to your siding, windows and doors which will definitely affect longevity. In a snow climate, this is even worse. The concerning part is all the exposed windows, which aren't sealed to the framing at the bottom. There's a much larger chance of water ingress.
- KaiserPro 5y ago
  it _looks_ like its carborised, ie slightly burnt, so it should last pretty well.
  - daydream 5y ago
    The exterior does look like shou sugi ban wood which (done properly) should indeed last for a long time.
    - glxxyz 5y ago
      However long it lasts, it would last longer protected by an overhanging roof.
      - daydream 5y ago
        Reasonable conclusion. Without an overhang and gutters it seems like more rain and snow would run off the side of the building than there would be otherwise, keeping the wood wet for longer. But, on the other hand, the green roof might have some characteristics or affordances that prevent that. Hard to tell. I am curious now though!
- potatolicious 5y ago
  Growing up in that part of Canada I have some worries about that flat roof. "Rural BC north of Whistler" is the sort of area to expect snow, and structures need to be designed to clear said snow...
  - altcognito 5y ago
    As someone else pointed out, even your roof holds up, the water is likely to pool somewhere and eventually the water gets in.
    - glxxyz 5y ago
      And finding that inevitable leak under a 'green roof' will be a fun challenge.
dan-robertson 5y ago
The choices don’t seem particularly shocking to me, so I don’t understand why they seem so obviously bad to you. For placement of bedrooms, I think the question is where else to put them. I guess they could have the office/4th bedroom next to the master instead but what the rooms for is obviously somewhat subject to change. For the bathing part of a bathroom being near bedrooms seems logical. There appears to be a small lavatory off the kitchen area but maybe it isn’t ideal not having a proper lavatory connected to the living space, especially if they actually do as much entertaining as they planned when designing it. I don’t know how to square your statement about architects seeing dumb money with the fact that many things you suggest they do would be more expensive and therefore increase the architects fees. I don’t understand the comment about how fast your car charges at all. I suspect that electrical heating in the winter is the main thing that would push up power usage (especially with double-height rooms) but I’ve no idea really.
- revnode 5y ago
  > The choices don’t seem particularly shocking to me Did you see all the glass? And the snow? Those two don't go together, even with triple glazing. Then again, if you have major $$$ to spend on heating, I guess it doesn't matter.
  - CalRobert 5y ago
    With 15 acres they may have a good size woodlot.
- thatfrenchguy 5y ago
  > or placement of bedrooms, I think the question is where else to put them. I guess they could have the office/4th bedroom next to the master Do I really need to tell you why it’s better to not share a bedroom wall with your children? :). If I had a choice, I 100% wouldn’t.
  - twobitshifter 5y ago
    Sound insulation is a possibility and when your kids are young they often need attention in the night.
blhack 5y ago
They likely put the kids bedrooms next to theirs because their children are very young, and need attention through the night.
prawn 5y ago
I think it's a beautiful house. Having the family bathroom near the children's bedrooms is pretty common in floorplans, at least in Australia. They have a wardrobe between them and the kid's room which would mean an insulated wall, soft clothing that would muffle sound, and then perhaps sliding wardrobe doors. That might help. We have a similar format in our house, but a dressing room in place of the wardrobe. I suspect that once kids are old enough to be aware, parents are typically a lot more careful with their timing...

carabiner 5y ago

It's the REI HQ: https://www.geekwire.com/2020/facebook-buys-reis-new-hq-367m-expanding-seattle-area-footprint-3m-square-feet/ https://www.geekwire.com/2020/facebook-buys-reis-new-hq-367m...

glxxyz 5y ago

That exposed wood with no rain protection will age terribly. I've seen quite a few houses for sale with this sort of design that probably looked good new too.

m_ke 5y ago
That's not true, if you have spacers behind the wood it should dry properly and last a long time. See https://www.buildingscience.com/documents/insights/bsi-001-the-perfect-wall https://www.buildingscience.com/documents/insights/bsi-001-t...
- turtlebits 5y ago
  Without overhangs and gutters, you are going to have a lot more water exposure to your siding, windows and doors which will definitely affect longevity. In a snow climate, this is even worse. The concerning part is all the exposed windows, which aren't sealed to the framing at the bottom. There's a much larger chance of water ingress.
KaiserPro 5y ago
it _looks_ like its carborised, ie slightly burnt, so it should last pretty well.
- daydream 5y ago
  The exterior does look like shou sugi ban wood which (done properly) should indeed last for a long time.
  - glxxyz 5y ago
    However long it lasts, it would last longer protected by an overhanging roof.
    - daydream 5y ago
      Reasonable conclusion. Without an overhang and gutters it seems like more rain and snow would run off the side of the building than there would be otherwise, keeping the wood wet for longer. But, on the other hand, the green roof might have some characteristics or affordances that prevent that. Hard to tell. I am curious now though!
potatolicious 5y ago
Growing up in that part of Canada I have some worries about that flat roof. "Rural BC north of Whistler" is the sort of area to expect snow, and structures need to be designed to clear said snow...
- altcognito 5y ago
  As someone else pointed out, even your roof holds up, the water is likely to pool somewhere and eventually the water gets in.
  - glxxyz 5y ago
    And finding that inevitable leak under a 'green roof' will be a fun challenge.

dan-robertson 5y ago

The choices don’t seem particularly shocking to me, so I don’t understand why they seem so obviously bad to you. For placement of bedrooms, I think the question is where else to put them. I guess they could have the office/4th bedroom next to the master instead but what the rooms for is obviously somewhat subject to change. For the bathing part of a bathroom being near bedrooms seems logical. There appears to be a small lavatory off the kitchen area but maybe it isn’t ideal not having a proper lavatory connected to the living space, especially if they actually do as much entertaining as they planned when designing it. I don’t know how to square your statement about architects seeing dumb money with the fact that many things you suggest they do would be more expensive and therefore increase the architects fees. I don’t understand the comment about how fast your car charges at all. I suspect that electrical heating in the winter is the main thing that would push up power usage (especially with double-height rooms) but I’ve no idea really.

revnode 5y ago
> The choices don’t seem particularly shocking to me Did you see all the glass? And the snow? Those two don't go together, even with triple glazing. Then again, if you have major $$$ to spend on heating, I guess it doesn't matter.
- CalRobert 5y ago
  With 15 acres they may have a good size woodlot.
thatfrenchguy 5y ago
> or placement of bedrooms, I think the question is where else to put them. I guess they could have the office/4th bedroom next to the master Do I really need to tell you why it’s better to not share a bedroom wall with your children? :). If I had a choice, I 100% wouldn’t.
- twobitshifter 5y ago
  Sound insulation is a possibility and when your kids are young they often need attention in the night.

blhack 5y ago

They likely put the kids bedrooms next to theirs because their children are very young, and need attention through the night.

prawn 5y ago

I think it's a beautiful house. Having the family bathroom near the children's bedrooms is pretty common in floorplans, at least in Australia. They have a wardrobe between them and the kid's room which would mean an insulated wall, soft clothing that would muffle sound, and then perhaps sliding wardrobe doors. That might help. We have a similar format in our house, but a dressing room in place of the wardrobe. I suspect that once kids are old enough to be aware, parents are typically a lot more careful with their timing...