I really don’t see any way the building industry can correct itself into building better, more comfortable and energy efficient homes. As long as market incentives are driving home sizes up, they will grow. The government will have to step up and use VERY unpopular tax measures on either the building construction side of the business or on the home owner side to penalize for overblown house size.

You know, it is a really tough time to be a believer into the free market enterprise spirit these days. it just does not seem to be too many markets able to correct themselves. Banks driving themselves into defaults, building construction industry that does not know when to stop, auto manufacturers making larger cars when the demand shifts into smaller - there is just no end to the samples of businesses NOT knowing what’s best for them.

Peace!

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Ryan

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.channel&channelID=468602158

Oakridge National Laboratories did two tests, the first was faulty so a second was done using a wall that “Several nationally known straw-bale home builders oversaw construction of the walls and the testing.”

The testing showed an overall rating of 1.45 per inch or R-27.5 for a 19 inch wall.

The testing and results can be found at this link
http://www.ornl.gov/sci/roofs+walls/AWT/HotboxTest/Hybrid/StrawBale/index.htm

Very few homes should be “one offs” individually designed for a specific client. What I think we need are better mass market plans and better plan books. The homes you see in your typical supermarket plan book are just awful. It may be that this is all the consuming public sees so many of them think that’s what they should be asking for.

Most architects have abdicated that segment of the market. But they would do well to start doing great plans for the masses.

Best.
Gregory M. Richard

These architects have shown that ‘traditional’ decorative elements aren’t required to ‘beautify’ a building. Let those decorative elements live in the past, in old world mansions, museums & themed hotels.

I’d rather see buildings that have balance, symmetry, scale and texture (as naturally exuded by its building materials); performing its function as a machine for man to live in.
All too often the efficiency of the building takes a backseat to cost & aesthetics; and these designers have the gall to call themselves architects. When clearly they are just sculptors who were able to con a patron into having their sculpture funded.

Regards,
Kelly

Steve

I live in a region with high-income families who take on larger mortgages (larger houses) for the larger interest deduction, business owners who were advised by their banks to buy larger homes in order to build more home equity to use as collateral to finance business expansion. Further, higher land costs encourage construction of more costly (larger) homes proportional to the value of the lot. The economics of a modest home on an expensive lot don’t work.

The drop in home values has temporarily stifled some of this motivation, but this may be a good time for another discussion about limitations on the mortgage deduction, as an economic motivator to build smaller more efficient homes proportional to the need.

Dennis