> which is out of alignment with coastal elite modernism
Most coastal areas I've been to typically value their historical architecture and maintain those aesthetics.
Really not sure where you're getting that from. If you go to areas in Michigan such as Troy, most of the houses are of a mid-century modern design similar to what you're sharing.
The design language of a McMansion inherently lacks cohesion. Its not an elitist take to say "taking various design elements from 6 different eras of building and inflating them all up to 150% scale" is a bad design.
If a design lacks any kind of symmetry, has windows that dont line up that are all different sizes, misplaced features, etc; its an ugly design. Not sure what else to say.
Midwesterners are not immune to good design practice, and its bizarre to suggest that people outside of the coasts are incapable of making a cohesive design.
> Most coastal areas I've been to typically value their historical architecture and maintain those aesthetics
Given that virtually all new construction in coastal cities is five over one crapboxes along with the occasional uninspired at best highrise, I don't see it. Certainly nobody is putting up what one might consider well built aesthetically pleasing mansions in downtown San Wherever.
5-over-1s are basically universal in the United States. You might see them more in coastal areas but that's because its where the population gravitates to.
I don't like 5-over-1s either but they're a product of zoning laws that tried to legislate out more compact housing.
I much rather have a couple duplex/quadplexes on each suburban block but a lot of folks really don't like that idea.
Bring up the idea of putting a cafe or convenience store inside a suburban culdesac hell and people will lose their mind.
> 5-over-1s are basically universal in the United States. You might see them more in coastal areas but that's because its where the population gravitates to.
Yes I'm aware. The point is that the coastal cities are not in fact trying to maintain their historic aesthetic. They're building the same crapboxes everywhere else is.
This isn't a dumb flyover hicks vs sophisticated coast tech bros issue. It's an observable fact that architecture and construction virtually everywhere in the USA and the West in general has been garbage for over half a century. McMansions are just a symptom of a deeper rot.
Most coastal areas I've been to typically value their historical architecture and maintain those aesthetics.
Really not sure where you're getting that from. If you go to areas in Michigan such as Troy, most of the houses are of a mid-century modern design similar to what you're sharing.
The design language of a McMansion inherently lacks cohesion. Its not an elitist take to say "taking various design elements from 6 different eras of building and inflating them all up to 150% scale" is a bad design.
If a design lacks any kind of symmetry, has windows that dont line up that are all different sizes, misplaced features, etc; its an ugly design. Not sure what else to say.
Midwesterners are not immune to good design practice, and its bizarre to suggest that people outside of the coasts are incapable of making a cohesive design.