The author is a racicst....and an ignorant one!

The houses in 1-6 are literally mansions. I even know where two of those homes are and they are definitely not the McMansion house. Only one of these homes is a true McMansion, the one with the neighbor right next door.

The author of this article needs to learn the difference between the two.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s the evident lack of durability, rather than aesthetics, that make McMansions so unsettling to me. I’d like to think that if I had several million to spend on a spec home, I’d choose materials that will last. I’d build something that could be passed to a future generation, even if it were small, rather than torn down and replaced with something equally transient.

I don't know, I see a lot to admire in the Japanese approach of tearing the whole thing down every 20 to 30 years and starting fresh. We in the US are too dependent on real estate appreciation and the concept of homes staying in the family.

That approach might’ve made sense when you were talking largely about wood construction without internal plumbing, ductwork, insulation, fixtures, and tons of plastic crap that is simply landfilled if it can’t be cheaply recycled. We are not living with bamboo-floored tatami mat houses anymore either here or in Japan (I’m Tokyo-born). Our building methods are grossly resource intensive and overly focused on what’s new or stylish.

In what way are the building methods grossly resource intensive? Concrete and steel are quite energy and resource intensive. And wood is a fully renewable resource. There are plenty of 300 year old wood-frame homes in New England. But whatever, you already know that.

Most houses torn down in this area aren't torn down because they're old, or lack "durability." They're torn down because the economics of the location have rendered the existing structure obsolete, or the structure was negligently maintained by a previous owner. No structure, no matter how it's built, is without maintenance needs.

Tastes change everywhere, and remodeling happens everywhere.

I've lived and travelled substantially and you got to be kidding me by claiming new residential architecture abroad is automatically both better built and designed. Most of it is badly designed. Most of it is built out of cheap concrete that cracks and falls apart in due time.

The Middle East takes the cake for the worst new housing but much of Asia is right behind it too. McMansions galore.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s the evident lack of durability, rather than aesthetics, that make McMansions so unsettling to me. I’d like to think that if I had several million to spend on a spec home, I’d choose materials that will last. I’d build something that could be passed to a future generation, even if it were small, rather than torn down and replaced with something equally transient.

I don't know, I see a lot to admire in the Japanese approach of tearing the whole thing down every 20 to 30 years and starting fresh. We in the US are too dependent on real estate appreciation and the concept of homes staying in the family.

That approach might’ve made sense when you were talking largely about wood construction without internal plumbing, ductwork, insulation, fixtures, and tons of plastic crap that is simply landfilled if it can’t be cheaply recycled. We are not living with bamboo-floored tatami mat houses anymore either here or in Japan (I’m Tokyo-born). Our building methods are grossly resource intensive and overly focused on what’s new or stylish.

Anonymous wrote:It’s the evident lack of durability, rather than aesthetics, that make McMansions so unsettling to me. I’d like to think that if I had several million to spend on a spec home, I’d choose materials that will last. I’d build something that could be passed to a future generation, even if it were small, rather than torn down and replaced with something equally transient.

I don't know, I see a lot to admire in the Japanese approach of tearing the whole thing down every 20 to 30 years and starting fresh. We in the US are too dependent on real estate appreciation and the concept of homes staying in the family.

It’s the evident lack of durability, rather than aesthetics, that make McMansions so unsettling to me. I’d like to think that if I had several million to spend on a spec home, I’d choose materials that will last. I’d build something that could be passed to a future generation, even if it were small, rather than torn down and replaced with something equally transient.

If these are in McLean or Great Falls and on an acre or more, they’re worth over $5M, clearly making them “mansions”, not “McMansions”. It is a McMansion if it is in some cheap area or on a small lot, but these are clearly regular mansions (assuming they are on a 1+ acre of land).

Building contractor here. American residential construction is cheap, very low quality. You are only one large plumbing leak or stormwater leak away from a complete disaster. The drywall, insulation, and wood just rots away. Ive built both residential and commercial projects both here in the states and abroad. Our “commercial” construction is excellent - superior to rest of the world but residential is crap. Abroad, both residential and commercial practices are similar (iron, masonry, and concrete) so if one purchases a new home it will be around for a few generations, not a few decades. You will not be replacing the roof, windows, plumbing in your lifetime. I wish our residential codes and building practices were more commercial.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What we “Americans” consider tasteful, classic, etc is obviously not congruent with others, particularly others from diverse cultures. Im betting the people building these “mcmansions” likely are doing it because they find the existing, traditional American dwelling structures to be equally deficient and/or lacking.

100% Correct. If you travel abroad and how homes are built, you'll notice that American homes are actually quite cheap and ugly. They are made of wood, drywall; The exterior is just made of plastic (vinyl) or fake bricks. yuk. Even expensive homes are built with the same cheap wood, drywall and plastic. Everywhere else in the world, this is considered plain ugly, cheap and tasteless. But American love their homes like this.

Yeah I don’t get why these housewife’s always make fun of McMansions but then live in an ugly looking colonial or a cheaply made craftsman house and think it’s the hottest item in the world when it’s trash and threw up in 4 months by illegal immigrants making 9 bucks an hour.

Anonymous wrote:What we “Americans” consider tasteful, classic, etc is obviously not congruent with others, particularly others from diverse cultures. Im betting the people building these “mcmansions” likely are doing it because they find the existing, traditional American dwelling structures to be equally deficient and/or lacking.

Bingo! You aced it! This is exactly how I felt whenever some (apparently) white person touted a house as “tasteful “ or “classic”. I was like, really? Do people actually think they it’s a remotely good style?

Anonymous wrote:I dont have a dog in the race but reading through forum i deduce envy, jealousy, and a bit of immigrant resentment. I saw one comment (which was removed by the moderator) which was rather resentful and perhaps a bit hateful. What does it matter how people spend their $$ so as long as they earn it honestly to pursure their wants, desires, etc. Very sad to see people behave like teenagers...

I think you are right. If you want to live in a lily-white community with your "taste", go live in Chevy Chase or NWDC. Also there are plenty of ugly McMansions in Moco.

Anonymous wrote:What we “Americans” consider tasteful, classic, etc is obviously not congruent with others, particularly others from diverse cultures. Im betting the people building these “mcmansions” likely are doing it because they find the existing, traditional American dwelling structures to be equally deficient and/or lacking.

100% Correct. If you travel abroad and how homes are built, you'll notice that American homes are actually quite cheap and ugly. They are made of wood, drywall; The exterior is just made of plastic (vinyl) or fake bricks. yuk. Even expensive homes are built with the same cheap wood, drywall and plastic. Everywhere else in the world, this is considered plain ugly, cheap and tasteless. But American love their homes like this.