Trends in Urban Architecture
A recent stroll through Minneapolis' downtown brought me face-to-face with the building pictured above. I think it's another condo building. Anyway, the concave wall caught my eye--a striking design!
Has anyone else noticed that condos--especially "luxury" condos--tend to follow certain design trends? Planners seem to have decided to equate modernist elements (clearly delineated rectangular forms, protruding triangles, non-functional overhangs, skewed lines) with high residential prices. Not that I'm complaining, per se, but it is a bit weird. Why not build a decent but otherwise plain building, and spend the leftover luxury funds on great cabinetry, flooring, and HVAC?
posted by Stephen Gross at
10:36 AM
3 Comments:
Actually, that's not a condo building at all but the new home for the Center for Music, a premier Twin Cities fine arts educational institution.
I'd love it if they'd spend less $$$ on design, more $$$ on sound proofing between condos. My wife and I briefly owned a condo in St. Paul and were treated to voluminous music from all sides. How 'bout some concrete between units?
Budget Luxury
I have to concur with one of the other posters, but with a slightly different angle. High-end condos are made with lower-end (not the lowest) construction materials. The quality of the craftsmanship is often lacking in the fit-and-finish department. It's the American model of greed at work: put the fewest dollars in for the biggest return. Personally, I wouldn't want to own some overpriced place where I'd have to hear my neighbor's radio all the time; or the door frames weren't measured right; or suddenly I get saddled with a huge maintenance fee for a new roof, because the original one was built on the cheap.
Where's the luxury? Luxury is for millionaires. When you've got that kind of dough, then you've got luxury and a hot wife, just like Donald Trump. So maybe the correct term should be "budget luxury."
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