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Ultimate Suburban McMansions

thedeepend said:
came across these on Sunday. Just off Weston Road near Major McKenzie. I really had no idea how out of control these things were! Kitsch at monster scale. of course they are just the same old crappy chipboard framed, fake beige stoned "design build" bullshit that is destroying neighbourhoods like Leaside but taken to a ridiculous degree. Who lives in these things?
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Wow those are actually some gorgeous houses.

One of these days when I'm ready to move out of downtown and start a family I'd like to live in a nice big house. Perhaps not quite that big, but something bigger than an urban shack.
 
Mustapha said:
wanna-be mob boss chic

what this country needs is a freakin uprising sometimes.

i say burn em down
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Uprising against what?

You don't like the house, you don't have to live in it. It's that simple.

And speaking of a mob mentality, calling for these places to be burned down is a perfect example criminal thinking.
 
Hydrogen said:
Uprising against what?

You don't like the house, you don't have to live in it. It's that simple.

And speaking of a mob mentality, calling for these places to be burned down is a perfect example criminal thinking.
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i reckon he's being slightly er, rhetorical. no need to get all high dudgeon on him.
 
Many McMansions are really a lot smaller than they seem due to a foyer + circular staircase combo that takes up, literally, half the volume of the house.
 
mcm2.jpg


This image sums it all up nicely: the more cheap Home Depot plywood stapled together, the better! Seriously, if I had that kind of money, I certainly wouldn't be spending it on a house built like a matchbox.
 
If you are the flashy type, have money and enjoy entertaining, then a house of that size would make some sense. If someone wants to live like that, more power to them. If you are successful in life and want to treat yourself to a McMansion, by all means.

I think a lot of it has to do with all these new TV shows, such as MTV Cribs, The Hills, Party Mamas, Real Housewives of Orange County that showcase wealthy people with big homes, fancy cars and so forth. People are growing up with this crap and many will demand that kind of lifestyle as they get older. I know a few females that are like, "I want a big home" or "I want an Escalade" and you ask them, "Why?" and they can't explain it.

Having such a home is not for everyone. It's definitely not for me. I am comfortable with a 'cozy' home that I can actually clean myself instead of hiring 100 'Molly Maids'.

I don't think you can really knock people who want to live in these homes. We are all different, we all have different objectives in life, so you can't expect people to live the way you do.
 
cruzin4u said:
If you are the flashy type, have money and enjoy entertaining, then a house of that size would make some sense. If someone wants to live like that, more power to them. If you are successful in life and want to treat yourself to a McMansion, by all means.

I think a lot of it has to do with all these new TV shows, such as MTV Cribs, The Hills, Party Mamas, Real Housewives of Orange County that showcase wealthy people with big homes, fancy cars and so forth. People are growing up with this crap and many will demand that kind of lifestyle as they get older. I know a few females that are like, "I want a big home" or "I want an Escalade" and you ask them, "Why?" and they can't explain it.

Having such a home is not for everyone. It's definitely not for me. I am comfortable with a 'cozy' home that I can actually clean myself instead of hiring 100 'Molly Maids'.

I know there was one episode of MTV's Cribs which showed off Alanis Morissette's home in Ottawa. It was a condo.

I don't think you can really knock people who want to live in these homes. We are all different, we all have different objectives in life, so you can't expect people to live the way you do.
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I wouldn't buy more than I need either, and people should have the choice of building what they want, but I don't think they can be defended from an environmental perspective. A person's income shouldn't excuse that person from environmental responsibility. Everyone pays the price of energy excess, which is a very contemporary realization. I have nothing against luxury, but it's true that certain luxuries are harmful to the local environment, to peoples' health, and even to political situations in third world countries caused by environmental problems such as prolonged drought.
 
Hopefully if the owners can afford such a house, they're putting in a geothermal heating and cooling system in.
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Basically, you can't afford not to install geo in these kind of places. The cost to heat/cool these large volumes is generally too much for the kind of people who build these kind of homes (where the point is to generate an image of more means than you really have).

A lot of the work I've done (design and install geo systems) over the years, is large homes in the suburban and fringe areas of the GTA. What makes them more economical out there, is the fact that a lot of the area does not have natural gas service, leaving your choices to oil, propane or electric, making the payback on even a large geo system very quick.

While I agree that these cheap knock-off "mansions" are disheartening to those with a tad more taste, I must say that my line of work has allowed me to see truly remarkable quality and design as well. Unfortunately, instead of bad taste/quality right on display, they are generally well hidden from the public.

There's a "house" on St John's Sideroad and Yonge that is your typical neo tudor style...but in this case, it is done the same way they did 1920's buildings...real hand-cut Indiana Limestone...real slate roofs. All the details look the part, because they are the real deal (and real expensive). The little luxuries on this property include things like...an indoor NHL regulation rink.

Elton John's new pad up on #10 & Forks of the Credit is "ok", but not finished enough last time I was there to really be sure. One hell off a view of all Toronto/Miss from on top of that hill though.

One of the more impressive places I was at, was the replica of Le Petite Trianon up in Caledon. You'd never see the place from the road...too far in the property.(although the stables can be seen). I normally aren't impressed by "size", but this place is on a grand scale...not too overkill on the square footage (probably 20-something thousand), but the scale of the building scale is...floors are probably around to 20 feet, rather than the standard 10 or 11 found in most carriage trade homes. The budget for this estate....last I heard was $90 million.

One of my favorite new suburban homes is the one being built for Mitchell Goldhar. He bought a 300 acre former ski hill in Mono Mills, and had Bohlin Cywinski Jackson architects design it (of Bill Gates house fame). A nice sized house (about 7000 sqft), but not outrageous. Simple modern design using wood, stone and glass....very, very tasteful. It sits on top of the hill, with the most magnificent view I have ever seen from a home in all of Ontario.

But my favorite new "mansion" of all, is not in the burbs...but right in Rosedale. I installed a geo system for the Integral House on Roxborough. This will be Shim-Sutcliffe's magnum opus, and I can't even begin to describe how great this place is...everything down to the door handles are literally works of art...fit & finish is mondo-beyondo. This unfinished masterpiece is well-known in local architectural circles already, but when finished, will definitely put the architectural world on its ear.

So, not all is lost...at least some people are engaging in taste, materials and good architecture.
 
A person's income shouldn't excuse that person from environmental responsibility. Everyone pays the price of energy excess, which is a very contemporary realization.
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Junctionist nailed it. What is offensive about homes like this is that the selfish desires of a very few undermine the hard efforts of thousands more. Why should a small minority of people feel that they can freely degrade a world shared by everyone, and use up a massively disproportionate amount of our dwindling resources, simply so they can impress some friends or neighbours who frankly probably don't give a crap anyway?

It is the same logic that offends me about monstrous SUVs. "I can afford the gas so it's my business" is a BS logic. I don't even own a car, but the ever increasing demand for gasoline by millions of North American SUV drivers and 100-mile-a-day commuters is what is driving the price of oil to new highs, and is in turn driving up the price of the food I buy when I walk to the grocery store. Those who make an effort to live responsibly still pay the price for those who don't.

The world is one; everything is linked. Leaving the salvation of our environment and resources to the open market is a doomed approach because many people only look out for themselves and don't see the bigger picture. It's human nature. We need some regulations to tweak things enough that those who live conservatively are rewarded, and those who live obnoxiously are not. Step 1 may be to stop glorifying people who buy monstrohomes like this and live an MTV Cribs lifestyle as "successful" and instead mock them for the selfish fools they are.
 
PukeGreen said:
Junctionist nailed it. What is offensive about homes like this is that the selfish desires of a very few undermine the hard efforts of thousands more. Why should a small minority of people feel that they can freely degrade a world shared by everyone, and use up a massively disproportionate amount of our dwindling resources, simply so they can impress some friends or neighbours who frankly probably don't give a crap anyway?

It is the same logic that offends me about monstrous SUVs. "I can afford the gas so it's my business" is a BS logic. I don't even own a car, but the ever increasing demand for gasoline by millions of North American SUV drivers and 100-mile-a-day commuters is what is driving the price of oil to new highs, and is in turn driving up the price of the food I buy when I walk to the grocery store. Those who make an effort to live responsibly still pay the price for those who don't.

The world is one; everything is linked. Leaving the salvation of our environment and resources to the open market is a doomed approach because many people only look out for themselves and don't see the bigger picture. It's human nature. We need some regulations to tweak things enough that those who live conservatively are rewarded, and those who live obnoxiously are not. Step 1 may be to stop glorifying people who buy monstrohomes like this and live an MTV Cribs lifestyle as "successful" and instead mock them for the selfish fools they are.
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well said
 
freshcutgrass said:
Basically, you can't afford not to install geo in these kind of places. The cost to heat/cool these large volumes is generally too much for the kind of people who build these kind of homes (where the point is to generate an image of more means than you really have).

A lot of the work I've done (design and install geo systems) over the years, is large homes in the suburban and fringe areas of the GTA. What makes them more economical out there, is the fact that a lot of the area does not have natural gas service, leaving your choices to oil, propane or electric, making the payback on even a large geo system very quick.

While I agree that these cheap knock-off "mansions" are disheartening to those with a tad more taste, I must say that my line of work has allowed me to see truly remarkable quality and design as well. Unfortunately, instead of bad taste/quality right on display, they are generally well hidden from the public.

There's a "house" on St John's Sideroad and Yonge that is your typical neo tudor style...but in this case, it is done the same way they did 1920's buildings...real hand-cut Indiana Limestone...real slate roofs. All the details look the part, because they are the real deal (and real expensive). The little luxuries on this property include things like...an indoor NHL regulation rink.

Elton John's new pad up on #10 & Forks of the Credit is "ok", but not finished enough last time I was there to really be sure. One hell off a view of all Toronto/Miss from on top of that hill though.

One of the more impressive places I was at, was the replica of Le Petite Trianon up in Caledon. You'd never see the place from the road...too far in the property.(although the stables can be seen). I normally aren't impressed by "size", but this place is on a grand scale...not too overkill on the square footage (probably 20-something thousand), but the scale of the building scale is...floors are probably around to 20 feet, rather than the standard 10 or 11 found in most carriage trade homes. The budget for this estate....last I heard was $90 million.

One of my favorite new suburban homes is the one being built for Mitchell Goldhar. He bought a 300 acre former ski hill in Mono Mills, and had Bohlin Cywinski Jackson architects design it (of Bill Gates house fame). A nice sized house (about 7000 sqft), but not outrageous. Simple modern design using wood, stone and glass....very, very tasteful. It sits on top of the hill, with the most magnificent view I have ever seen from a home in all of Ontario.

But my favorite new "mansion" of all, is not in the burbs...but right in Rosedale. I installed a geo system for the Integral House on Roxborough. This will be Shim-Sutcliffe's magnum opus, and I can't even begin to describe how great this place is...everything down to the door handles are literally works of art...fit & finish is mondo-beyondo. This unfinished masterpiece is well-known in local architectural circles already, but when finished, will definitely put the architectural world on its ear.

So, not all is lost...at least some people are engaging in taste, materials and good architecture.
Click to expand...

Thanks, it's nice to get an insiders view. Do you know why the Goerge Eaton mansion was/is up for sale? Is he downsizing?

-Moose
 
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