McMansion

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McMansion is a pejorative term used to describe a large middle class house, particularly in the United States, that is rapidly constructed using modern labor-saving techniques in a manner reminiscent of food production at McDonald's fast food restaurants. The term is one of many McWords.

The "stunt word" McMansion first appeared in the San Diego Union-Tribune in 1990;^{[citation needed]} it later appeared in the Los Angeles Times^[1] and New York Times in 1998.^[2] Other terms applied to this type of dwelling include "garage Mahal", "starter castle", and "Hummer house".^[3]

Contents 1 Architecture 2 Origins 3 Criticism 3.1 Design 3.2 Size 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links

[edit] Architecture

The term is generally used to denote a home with a larger footprint than a median home, an indistinct architectural style similar to others nearby, and which is often located in a newer, larger subdivision. It is also used to refer to the replacement of an existing, smaller structure in an older neighborhood with a larger and more elaborate home.

Architecturally, the term refers to a house with a floor area commonly over 3,000 square feet (280 m²) in size, often on a small lot (the house itself often covering a larger portion of the land than the yard in a more conventional design) and typically built in homogeneous communities that are often produced by a developer. Although they are generally large homes and may be relatively expensive, they are distinguished from "true" mansions by the fact that they are mass produced and are not architecturally unique. Their cost places them in the purchasing range of the upper middle class segment of the population.

[edit] Origins

Starting in the 1980s, the McMansion concept was intended to fill a gap between the modest suburban tract home and the upscale custom homes found in gated, waterfront, or golf course communities. Subdivisions were developed around such communities, as well as in pre-existing neighborhoods, either in empty lots or as replacements for torn-down structures.

It has been suggested that their popularity may not be purely based on consumer desires. Adjusted for inflation, in terms of square footage and features, a house in 2006 cost about the same to build as a house in 1970. Therefore, in order to increase profit margins over previous years, builders need to build more expensive houses (more features and square footage) on the same tracts.^[4]

[edit] Criticism

[edit] Design

The "McMansion" label is often applied to buildings which inexpertly mix multiple architectural styles and foreign elements, often by combining elements found on traditional mansions, such as quoins, steeply sloped roofs, multiple roof lines, and pronounced dormers. The availability and low cost of recent construction material developments such as manufactured stone contributes to this trend; the use of their real counterparts would be prohibitively expensive for many of the homes so labeled. The mass production of inexpensive facsimiles of traditional architectural details allows an overzealous home builder or buyer to include an amount of conflicting details which would have been economically prohibitive in older construction. This is compounded by a lack of professional architectural design for many structures.

Another criticism is that McMansions are often designed from the inside out, rather than from the outside in. This is a result of designing a house room by room, to the benefit of the interiors, such as over-focusing on the placement of beds, appliances and televisions. The result can be an illogical combination of exterior massing, with awkward roof configurations or unusual window sizes and placement (such as the windows on an upper level not being "centered" on those below).

Attached garages are another common element, with the garage typically being placed closer to the street than the home's front entrance. This practice minimizes the amount of paved driveway space and allows the lots to be narrower. Historically, automobiles and utility equipment were stored in separate buildings or carriage houses that were located discreetly out of view (in rural settings) or along alleys (in urban settings). Developers in the U.S. have largely abandoned the use of service alleys, resulting in garages being accessed from fronting streets. This has significantly changed the overall look of housing developments, but has resulted in substantial construction and maintenance savings to both developers and municipalities who would otherwise be required to maintain the alleys (including filling potholes and clearing snow).

Like many lower-priced tract homes, it is not uncommon for a McMansion's exterior finishes, such as brick and stone masonry, to terminate on "outside" corners. This practice allows photographs and drawings of the front elevation (view) to illustrate the house as being more expensive than it really is when viewed straight on from the street. However, when viewed from an angle, it becomes obvious that the more expensive finishes do not "wrap" around the corners.

[edit] Size

Even in affluent locations which already have a ready assortment of large houses, the construction of what seems to be too large a house on an existing lot will often draw the ire of neighbors and other local residents. In 2006, for example, a recently built house in Kirkland, WA (an affluent suburb on Seattle's Eastside) stood four feet (1.2 m) away from the neighboring home.^[5]

While the average American family has shrunk in size, the average American home has grown. In 1974, the average American single-family home was 1,695 square feet (157 m²); in 2004 it had increased to 2,349 square feet (218 m²). The average family size, on the other hand, has fallen from 3.1 people in 1974 to 2.6 people in 2004.^[6]

The larger amount of space in a McMansion means that much of the home's volume is not used as much or as efficiently as the space in a smaller house. Rooms often go infrequently used; this is particularly the case with great rooms and formal dining rooms.^[7]

The large, numerous windows that are sometimes used in the great room can result in buildings that are much more expensive to cool and heat, especially if the house has been designed without consideration for its orientation relative to seasonal sun paths or without proper insulation. Large rooms, especially those with high ceilings, are frequently more expensive to heat.^[8]

[edit] See also

• Luxury real estate
• Mansion

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

• Bernstein, Fred A. "Are McMansions Going out of Style?" The New York Times, October 2, 2005.
• Fletcher, June. "The McMansion Glut". The Wall Street Journal, June 16, 2006.
• Leinberger, Christopher B. "The Next Slum?" The Atlantic Monthly, March 2008.
• Rybczynski, Witold. "How McMansions Go Wrong" Slate.com, January 4, 2006

[edit] External links

• Photographs of a McMansion's interior, including the tall hallway with chandelier, Boston.com.