Saw this little gem in Hermosa Beach. I was a little surprised, upon closer inspection, to realize that the cladding was wood. From a distance I thought it was something else.
Saw this little gem in Hermosa Beach. I was a little surprised, upon closer inspection, to realize that the cladding was wood. From a distance I thought it was something else.
Recently I was in California. These photos are of a renovated warehouse that is now a bar and restaurant. I thought it was very well done.
Also from Mesh Architecture http://www.mesh-arc.com/ — really nice renovation. Love the modern and rustic combined. Easy to do, affordable, and great looking.
Anyone else like this as much as I do?
Courtyard House, Williamsburg - USA
Steve Glenn, founder of Living Homes, talk about Prefab, sustainable design, and more. If you’re interested in Prefab or wondering why it matters, he explains it very well.
Curious how a modular home gets built? Check out this video.
On a run yesterday I came across this little gem of a rehabbed barn. I love this house. Nice design. I especially love the office on the second floor.
Part of what I do is look closely at sales in a given area to better understand value and what is really selling, and at what price. The other day I did just that for Beach Haven, NJ, and thought I would share the findings. Here are the sales of single family homes in Beach Haven over the past 6 months.
One of the things that stands out to me is the same thing that jumped out last time I did this, back in March. While it seems that everything on the Island is big or bigger, a high percentage of homes sold are smaller - 1,500 ft or less. For sure this is at least partially due to lower price points, but I think it also suggests that a good number of buyers want smaller homes.
It isn’t a coincidence that our smallest home is 1,250 sq. ft., nor is it shocking that more people call on it than our larger home. There is a market for smaller homes. The tricky part for us right now is that existing smaller homes have come way down in cost as compared to a few years ago.
This is a difficult truth to consider as a developer. Given the cost of land (at least $450,000) you are lucky - very lucky - to be able to sell the smaller home (including land) in Beach Haven for less than $750,000 and make money. People can purchase similarly sized homes for less, as you can see. Does this mean we can’t develop the smaller home? I don’t think it does, but it does give pause. What do you think? People complain all the time about how every home is too big. Yet when you look at it closely the reasons become obvious why builders and developers build larger homes.
Would you buy our home for $750,000 if you could buy an older one, in need of significant work, for, say $550,000 - $600,000? Would you rather pay $900,000 for a larger home?
Inspiring
“When it’s good, it absolutely elevates the quality of life of each citizen and it makes a powerful contribution to their sense of what they are capable of doing in their cities and in their communities. A great piece of architecture transforms a place from being completely hopeless to being a place of potential — that’s the sort of architecture I’m interested in.”
Quote from David Adjaye, about architecture. He is an architect himself and his practice is in North London. He is one of my favorites.
