In defense of cookie cutter homes

[Steve97415]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

I've seen a number of posts disparaging the architectural styles of the new subdivisions in the Phoenix, Tucson, and Prescott areas and I just have to rise in defense. The new sub-divs are so much better than the ones of ten years ago. Back then a new development might have 3-4 floorplans and 2-3 elevations of each. All houses were painted the same color (Navajo White). There was no attempt at disguising or blending garage into the home so driving thru the developments gave the feel of visiting a mini-storage.

In contrast, today many developments feature 5-6 or more floorplans with several elevation per plan. Colors are all shades of brown but there are several choices. And most developments have side-entry garage options particularly with three car garage homes. The town I live in, Goodyear, has city ordinances, that require houses next to each other not be painted the same or have the same elevations and so forth. Other cities have the same rules. The other side of the coin is that lot sizes have shrunk so the homes really looked packed in. But all in all, new subdivisions are, to my eye, more attractive than those of ten years ago. That's progress of sorts.

The flaw I see in your reasoning is that you are comparing cookie-cutter to cookie-cutter -- two different generations of corporate-controlled housing development. Different eras, yes, but the comparison should be between A) small individually-owned lots built by the future homeowners and B) huge tracts that are developed by multi-million dollar development corporations. It's a lot like the distinction between family-owned farms and corporate megafarms. If Arizonans had any land-use ethics, state laws wouldn't permit these megatract developers to continue to rape the desert and make ungodly amounts of money with these pretentious fiefdoms of faux-Spanish stucco. But capitalism is the state religion of Arizona. Whatever rakes in the money for big business is perceived to be the greatest possible public good. The fact remains that there are still lots of areas left in the country where individual homeowners can buy small residential lots that they will develop themselves. The unit of design then, is what it has always been: the individual lot, not the megatract. We don't have to have corporation-developed housing. We haven't had it for most of our history here in America.

[Boatdrinks]

Originally Posted by ScrantonWilkesBarre

Way back when people cared more about each other than about themselves, people had archaic festivals called "Block Parties",

Block parties are very common in my neighborhood. We have them fairly frequently, even in the WINTER months (which might be kind of chilly in PA ). Just b/c we have cinder block walls around our backyard doesn't mean we don't know and socialize with our neighbors. I lived in the D.C. area much of my life, with not a cinderblock fence in sight, and people were a great deal less friendly, and socialized FAR less with their neighbors, then they do here in AZ.

[Keehome]

My thing is, how do you make your house stand out from others in a "cookie cutter" nieghborhood when it comes time to sell? As a potential buyer, after looking at a number of these "cookie cutter" homes, they all look the same, no matter what the sellers have done to them. I am looking to buy, and afraid to move into one of these neighborhoods, for fear I will not be able to resell when I am ready. I know someone will say "don't move into a neighborhood like that then". I know, I know. I was just hoping for input from someone who had to resell this kind of home.

[sheena]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

I've seen a number of posts disparaging the architectural styles of the new subdivisions in the Phoenix, Tucson, and Prescott areas and I just have to rise in defense. The new sub-divs are so much better than the ones of ten years ago. Back then a new development might have 3-4 floorplans and 2-3 elevations of each. All houses were painted the same color (Navajo White). There was no attempt at disguising or blending garage into the home so driving thru the developments gave the feel of visiting a mini-storage.

In contrast, today many developments feature 5-6 or more floorplans with several elevation per plan. Colors are all shades of brown but there are several choices. And most developments have side-entry garage options particularly with three car garage homes. The town I live in, Goodyear, has city ordinances, that require houses next to each other not be painted the same or have the same elevations and so forth. Other cities have the same rules. The other side of the coin is that lot sizes have shrunk so the homes really looked packed in. But all in all, new subdivisions are, to my eye, more attractive than those of ten years ago. That's progress of sorts.

I like the older comtemporary looking ones like the Florida houses better with nice long entry ways, high arches, big decorative windows etc and spaced better. I can't stand this stuff the builders are popping up these days it looks cheap and everything is on top of eachother. What's with these garages sticking out in front of the houses?

[Sean_Harrington]

Originally Posted by Boatdrinks

Block parties are very common in my neighborhood. We have them fairly frequently, even in the WINTER months (which might be kind of chilly in PA ). .

Wouldn't having a block party in the SUMMER in PHX be just about as impossibly uncomfortable?

[43north87west]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

I've seen a number of posts disparaging the architectural styles of the new subdivisions in the Phoenix, Tucson, and Prescott areas and I just have to rise in defense. The new sub-divs are so much better than the ones of ten years ago. Back then a new development might have 3-4 floorplans and 2-3 elevations of each. All houses were painted the same color (Navajo White). There was no attempt at disguising or blending garage into the home so driving thru the developments gave the feel of visiting a mini-storage...

There has obviously been some progress, most notably in the cement block vs. "nice" walls or fences. No matter how you paint it (or don't), cement block is not nice, and it makes backyards feel like basements, not backyards. The newer decorative block is much more attractive without being fugly.

The similarity of homes is very disturbing from someone who was raised in eastern suburbs (5+ acres, custom built homes, not planned communities). One place I lived was Lake Forest, IL. This was probably the "Best" example of a unique community. Almost every home in the city was on a very large chunk of land, with the exception of the ones in the downtown area. Each of them was different, and the designs were very unique. There were few McMansions, a few west of Waukegan Rd., but not too many.

In Scottsdale, there are some very serious cookie-cutter subdivisions (my opinion). However, while they are very much from the cookie-cutter/planned community school of thought, many of the newer ones embrace the desert landscape, rather than ruining it. The homes are built without intruding too badly into the surroundings. This is very appealing to me, from a design perspective.

I currently live at Kierland, which is a planned community with a couple of different developments. The uniformity of the area is not unattractive. The whole planned community is without question, quite well done. While I enjoy individuality, the symmetry of planned communities has grown on me since moving out west. In addition, well done planned communities with nice landscaping and attractive--but not intrusive--dividing walls and gates, can feel very comfortable without being obnoxious. Unfortunately, the obnoxious ones were already built before the architects got it fine-tuned.

One last note--I saw someone mention that lots have gotten smaller. No doubt about that. It used to be easier to build on an acre or two, maybe five, or even more. Not now--that's reserved for either remote locations, or big ticket estates in the suburbs. Architects and designers must become more creative while figuring out how to maximize space without making a place more ugly (or without offering appealing options to prospective buyers).