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My city and apparently numerous cities in my area have passed ordinances that new buildings over a certain size have to have multiple facades to look like multi

by donatj 3y ago

My city and apparently numerous cities in my area have passed ordinances that new buildings over a certain size have to have multiple facades to look like multiple buildings butted up to each other. The effect has been this astonishingly hideous theme park esq approximation of small town America that isn’t fooling anyone. It looks more out of place next to the actual turn of the twentieth century buildings than an unambiguously new building would. We can all see quite clearly this block long apartment building isn’t actually 5 buildings. Yet, now we have to suffer five hideous facades.

dzdt 3y ago
And there is no economic possibility for small developers to actually build multiple buildings organically anymore. This is because of the economics of scale of complying with stringent building code requirements along with endless zoning board approval meetings, environmental reviews, traffic studies, etc etc etc.
- mgaunard 3y ago
  Actually if you're talking about the US there are actually laws that prevent small developments; it's not just financials.
  - dghlsakjg 3y ago
    This is very, very, very place dependent, which is part of the problem TBH.
ajkjk 3y ago
Sounds hilarious. Where's that?
- donatj 3y ago
  Minneapolis Suburbs. There’s been a huge apartment building boom, and cities with leftover small town vibes have passed these ordinances.
  - Fluorescence 3y ago
    Can you drop a street-view link? I sometimes quite like what others claim is hideous in these discussions, mainly because it's a refreshing change from my own local architectural group-think. There is a fair bit of regionality in the "cardboard" being pumped out. I expect future generations will create taxonomies and venerate it and laugh at all the naysayers here as has happened so often before! We are too close to it and not subjected to the next horror yet. We will miss overground houses with windows as we climb into our underground pods and plug-in.
    - donatj 3y ago
      Most of them in my town are newer than the street view data, here's a couple older ones however - https://maps.app.goo.gl/cec7VtUmDsAeHm5w7 https://maps.app.goo.gl/cec7VtUmDsAeHm5w7 - https://maps.app.goo.gl/h3p8xeBWgrAM7TjF8 https://maps.app.goo.gl/h3p8xeBWgrAM7TjF8 (see directly behind this view as well) - https://maps.app.goo.gl/GHcmRYGQS6fmMX1p9 https://maps.app.goo.gl/GHcmRYGQS6fmMX1p9 A previous poster has a good example of the style as lll
xtiansimon 3y ago
That’s funny. I don’t know about any ordinance, but you’re describing my town’s new downtown. [1] Just around the corner is a 75+ yro brick building (to the right of this street view) [2] with a detailed facade fashioned to have a small personal scale and plays with ornament to align with other older buildings on this street. (And this is some firm’s same solution/plan that you can find in at least one development miles away. [3]) The building to the left of the street view is a monstrosity, and here is another around the corner [4] I’ve heard many long-time residents complain bitterly about the experience of walking our downtown, so I hope this new building will move the needle in the right direction for folks. For the speed the new building went up and the challenge to develop in such a central area on a large plot, I think the result is positive (though, I’m sure I could not afford to rent there). [1]: https://maps.app.goo.gl/XKzYWUhiV5WTUBXv7?g_st=ic https://maps.app.goo.gl/XKzYWUhiV5WTUBXv7?g_st=ic [2]: https://maps.app.goo.gl/fGY9DYCvH6xZdNbz5?g_st=ic https://maps.app.goo.gl/fGY9DYCvH6xZdNbz5?g_st=ic [3]: https://maps.app.goo.gl/pgBMZ3wLUr3yCGvL8?g_st=ic https://maps.app.goo.gl/pgBMZ3wLUr3yCGvL8?g_st=ic [4]: https://maps.app.goo.gl/Yj1Mk9pAE9BFMrNm6?g_st=ic https://maps.app.goo.gl/Yj1Mk9pAE9BFMrNm6?g_st=ic
- everybodyknows 3y ago
  For most hideous misfeature of [1], I nominate this clash of siding styles: The turrets of mid-mod aluminum rectangles not merely abutting, but actually projecting out of their base walls of faux-wood-lap siding.
zip1234 3y ago
It's actually often enforced in zoning codes as "breaking up the massing".
NoPedantsThanks 3y ago
Wow, what a misguided and dumb "solution." If they're going to be that controlling, at least they could have enforced a truly helpful set of aesthetic guidelines.

by donatj 3y ago

dzdt 3y ago

And there is no economic possibility for small developers to actually build multiple buildings organically anymore. This is because of the economics of scale of complying with stringent building code requirements along with endless zoning board approval meetings, environmental reviews, traffic studies, etc etc etc.

mgaunard 3y ago
Actually if you're talking about the US there are actually laws that prevent small developments; it's not just financials.
- dghlsakjg 3y ago
  This is very, very, very place dependent, which is part of the problem TBH.

ajkjk 3y ago

Sounds hilarious. Where's that?

donatj 3y ago
Minneapolis Suburbs. There’s been a huge apartment building boom, and cities with leftover small town vibes have passed these ordinances.
- Fluorescence 3y ago
  Can you drop a street-view link? I sometimes quite like what others claim is hideous in these discussions, mainly because it's a refreshing change from my own local architectural group-think. There is a fair bit of regionality in the "cardboard" being pumped out. I expect future generations will create taxonomies and venerate it and laugh at all the naysayers here as has happened so often before! We are too close to it and not subjected to the next horror yet. We will miss overground houses with windows as we climb into our underground pods and plug-in.
  - donatj 3y ago
    Most of them in my town are newer than the street view data, here's a couple older ones however - https://maps.app.goo.gl/cec7VtUmDsAeHm5w7 https://maps.app.goo.gl/cec7VtUmDsAeHm5w7 - https://maps.app.goo.gl/h3p8xeBWgrAM7TjF8 https://maps.app.goo.gl/h3p8xeBWgrAM7TjF8 (see directly behind this view as well) - https://maps.app.goo.gl/GHcmRYGQS6fmMX1p9 https://maps.app.goo.gl/GHcmRYGQS6fmMX1p9 A previous poster has a good example of the style as lll

xtiansimon 3y ago

That’s funny. I don’t know about any ordinance, but you’re describing my town’s new downtown. [1] Just around the corner is a 75+ yro brick building (to the right of this street view) [2] with a detailed facade fashioned to have a small personal scale and plays with ornament to align with other older buildings on this street. (And this is some firm’s same solution/plan that you can find in at least one development miles away. [3]) The building to the left of the street view is a monstrosity, and here is another around the corner [4] I’ve heard many long-time residents complain bitterly about the experience of walking our downtown, so I hope this new building will move the needle in the right direction for folks. For the speed the new building went up and the challenge to develop in such a central area on a large plot, I think the result is positive (though, I’m sure I could not afford to rent there). [1]: https://maps.app.goo.gl/XKzYWUhiV5WTUBXv7?g_st=ic https://maps.app.goo.gl/XKzYWUhiV5WTUBXv7?g_st=ic [2]: https://maps.app.goo.gl/fGY9DYCvH6xZdNbz5?g_st=ic https://maps.app.goo.gl/fGY9DYCvH6xZdNbz5?g_st=ic [3]: https://maps.app.goo.gl/pgBMZ3wLUr3yCGvL8?g_st=ic https://maps.app.goo.gl/pgBMZ3wLUr3yCGvL8?g_st=ic [4]: https://maps.app.goo.gl/Yj1Mk9pAE9BFMrNm6?g_st=ic https://maps.app.goo.gl/Yj1Mk9pAE9BFMrNm6?g_st=ic

everybodyknows 3y ago
For most hideous misfeature of [1], I nominate this clash of siding styles: The turrets of mid-mod aluminum rectangles not merely abutting, but actually projecting out of their base walls of faux-wood-lap siding.

zip1234 3y ago

It's actually often enforced in zoning codes as "breaking up the massing".

NoPedantsThanks 3y ago

Wow, what a misguided and dumb "solution." If they're going to be that controlling, at least they could have enforced a truly helpful set of aesthetic guidelines.