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Ultimate Suburban McMansions

^^ Because low quality historicist stuff looks a lot better than low quality modern stuff. Half of this forum would disagree with me, but 99% of real people would agree with me.
 
what's with the mini lawns? why force everybody to buy lawn maintenance equipment for a few square feet of grass? why not build closer to the sidewalk?
 
urbandreamer said:
Here's a new modern-style townhouse development: http://www.littleitalylofthouses.com/flash.php

Check it out in the latest Condo Guide.
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yes, those are more to the point...
there are always smaller, more intelligent developers out there building decent things. its just baffling why there isn't a whole lot more of it.

it actually seems to almost be getting worse, as we keep getting these kitsch yellow stucco monsters like those grotesqueries across from Trinity Bellwoods, or those ridiculous and wretched "Georgian Towns" at Bathurst and Carr: The Gardens on Queen. bad beyond belief...

1142017050-gardensonqueen.jpg
 
thedeepend said:
or those ridiculous and wretched "Georgian Towns" at Bathurst and Carr: The Gardens on Queen. bad beyond belief...

1142017050-gardensonqueen.jpg
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It looks "better", in the so-bad-it's-good sense, in person.

Its forerunners can be seen on Emerald Crescent in New Toronto: banal early-mid-c20 walkups jazzed up w/rococo frippery. Or maybe those banal walkups on Lakeshore in Port Credit with the tree-trunk porticii...
 
adma said:
Or maybe those banal walkups on Lakeshore in Port Credit with the tree-trunk porticii...
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those are high-larious. what were they smoking--i mean thinking??

if its the one i'm thinking of...they have to be amongst the worst--faux folksy fieldstone with those weird round windows.

they look like the home of suburban hobbits. and yet the adjoining tower is modern--totally boring but modern...
 
What's up with the all the outside lighting on newer homes nowadays?

I'm talking about the 'potlights' in the eaves so that the house is lit up and 'nice looking' at night. Man, the showing off never ends.
 
Mustapha said:
What's up with the all the outside lighting on newer homes nowadays?

I'm talking about the 'potlights' in the eaves so that the house is lit up and 'nice looking' at night. Man, the showing off never ends.
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So?

There's nothing wrong with accentuating your property, especially if you live in a sub divison where your home looks like a clone of hundreds of your neighbours homes. I personally believe it makes the streets look better when the homes have outdoor potlighting. Too many people in sub divisions don't give a shit about their properties, so there's nothing wrong with making your property look a little better. Is that called showing off or just taking a bit more pride in your property?
 
urbandreamer said:
Rant and rave about land use all you want, but Canada has so much open space that these mini-mansions will surely continue to sprout up for centuries to come.
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Canada isn't relevant to the idea of unlimited open space, because Southern Ontario, and especially the GTA, don't have huge amounts of open space.

detroitbootybass said:
I guess i'm in a minority here in that I don't exactly feel comfortable telling other people what kinds of homes they may purchase with their own money... that's the crazy Libertarian in me.

:)
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This is a tiresome argument that gets trotted out whenever something is criticized. Nobody's saying people shouldn't have the right to a wasteful lifestyle, but what's wrong with criticizing it? Or making fun of tacky taste?

Glen said:
Just how many sq. feet per person is acceptable?
Are those who buy the 3000 sq. ft. penthouses, with a Prosche that gets the same mileage as a Hummer, in the underground, immune from such criticism? Or is the opposition based solely on stereotypes and taste?
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Someone in a 3000 sq ft penthouse is very likely to use less energy than someone in a 30,000 sq ft mcmansion.

Prometheus The Supremo said:
what's with the mini lawns? why force everybody to buy lawn maintenance equipment for a few square feet of grass? why not build closer to the sidewalk?
Click to expand...
Nothing wrong with mini lawns on a residential street, just like any house in older neighbourhoods. They provide a separation of the public street and private residence, and they make it easier to raise the first floor a few steps to increase privacy (you'll notice that the windows are smaller on the first floor too). A lot of townhouses have small backyards, so owners have lawn maintenance equipment anyway.

I think modernism is more popular for high rises because you're higher off the ground, so you don't feel like you're living in an aquarium. I like the Little Italy Lofthouses - modern but with tried and tested traditional touches.
 
detroitbootybass said:
Yeah... and what's up with people cutting their grass and raking leaves?

Pretentious MF'ers, I tell you!

:p
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I know it was a joke, but gas mowers could be criticized for their high CO2 emissions, and many people, especially with big properties need leaf blowers. That's another waste. Like MisterF said, criticism can be just as effective as a ban, but without upsetting the Libertarian.
 
MisterF said:
Nothing wrong with mini lawns on a residential street, just like any house in older neighbourhoods. They provide a separation of the public street and private residence, and they make it easier to raise the first floor a few steps to increase privacy (you'll notice that the windows are smaller on the first floor too). A lot of townhouses have small backyards, so owners have lawn maintenance equipment anyway.
Click to expand...

from an aesthetic sense, i don't like when these types of developments (townhouses with the mini front lawns) take place on the avenues. i also don't like how townhomes these days are built as part complexes which are disassociated (off the street grid) from the rest of the community.
 
In some new suburban development everyone is showing off. Perfect lawn, spotlights, nice landscaping and everything is clean, however you will never see anyone outside their home.

Then in some new suburbs things are average and some houses are quite crappy looking. However in these neighborhoods you actually see a soul walking around, or someone sitting in front of their house. I think my areas falls into this category. Some people show off, but most people are average and many people sit outside their homes and drink at night.


Also it appears the GTA is in love with brick homes. Everyone wants a brick house and any other material apart from stone is cheap. I hate those aluminum sliding and precast fake stuff they have out west and in the Sunbelt.
 
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