Someone posted this on the ModernPhoenix.net forums:
They finally get it… SPACES by Shea Homes
http://spacesforlife.net/
It only took a crash and burn of the real estate market for the mass builders to realize that something had to change…
Kudos to Shea Homes for taking a new approach to tract building. Opens this weekend in Gilbert.
To me it is mostly just an example of a builder trying to cash in on current trends and a certain segment of the public’s yearning for good old fashioned quality craftsmanship in a world now made up mostly of mass produced cheap junk. Real estate marketing departments are definitely starting to get it..making use of buzzwords like “modern,” “urban,” and “unique” and by creating a line of homes which gives the appearance of quality construction and architecture. At their core these are still essentially the same cheap stucco homes. Like other mcmansions they take a hodgepodge of popular elements from various styles of architecture, throw them together and voila! In my opinion, as opposed to looking like solid, quality, mcm inspired tract homes, these will just become representative of a time period when modern architecture became popular again, and builders looking to capitalize came up a line of homes that had some modern flair but which lacked many of the actual qualities that made the older homes so desirable. Sort of like when a fashion era comes back, like a virus it’s always in a slightly mutated less appealing form. Perhaps it’s possible that people will become so tired of “urban lofts,” “uber-hip modern” and other cliche slogans that it will lead to a backlash that will pave the way for “cottagy,” “homey,” or “cute and cozy” homes to make a comeback.
Tags: buzzwords, exploitation, mcm, mcmansion, mcmansions, mcmodern, modern architecture, real estate, shea homes, sloganeering, spaces, stucco, tract homes
