COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE REAL REASON THEY DON’T BUILD SO MANY STEEL OR CONCRETE HOMES IN HOUSTON “Additionally, you’re very limited when building out of steel or concrete, engineering requirements limit the shape and interest in the house. The walls of the second floor HAVE to sit on another wall underneath and forget about turrets and towers (can be done but very difficult). Like it or not, in today’s market turrets and towers add interest to the elevation of the house and they sell!” [commonsense, commenting on Tin House Panic Grips West U]
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I disagree that you can’t make a home look interesting using concrete and steel.
My father in law is a builder in South American where they have to build to Mexico City codes and most of the homes he designs put the homes I see in Houston to shame.
I’ve been all over central and south America and I haven’t seen any homes of great design. If you look past the chickens running around and funny colored paint, the homes are still cubes stacked on top of each other. Inside is also limited where second floor mirrors the first floor because of the whole “wall load” issue. The newest homes I’ve seen built there look like Miami Vice from 1980’s.
Britney Spears and mullets once added interest and sold millions upon millions, but, like turrets and towers, after a few years, it’s a big ole mess that everyone wants to distance themselves from…… for the most part, these grandiose & trendy structures will devalue the home and the homes around them.