Comments on: Old vs. New

by: michael

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 17:50:20 +0000

maybe so regarding “A healthy community wouldn’t build fences like that whether it was in the code or not”, but it also has to do with the fact that code has required a set amount of open space per unit, which results in ridiculous little outdoor spaces in the case of townhouses, and developers then try to make something of this by putting up a tall privacy fence. I think it has less to do with the state of our society, than it does with trying to meet demand for products that resemble the single-family house experience (look a yard!) while also having to meet stupid code, which luckily is being revised currently.

by: michael mcginn

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 05:16:36 +0000

Great post. I ride along phinney ridge every day and puzzle over the difference between gracious old buildings and the relatively low quality of many of the new buildings. What went wrong?

by: danb

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 00:05:44 +0000

michael, I think the problem runs deeper than bad code. A healthy community wouldn’t build fences like that whether it was in the code or not.

MTE, I could have used a better balcony example, yes. But I also think Juliet balconies get a bad rap. It’s nice to have what’s essentially a window that can open even though it extends all the way to the floor.

DG, sure but that’s not the point. I’m more interested in why, if we believe we’ve had progress, we can’t afford the level of quality materials and workmanship of older buildings.

by: dorian gray

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 20:39:26 +0000

Go ahead build the old style apartments today. And I’ll buy them when they’re being foreclosed on because you couldn’t rent out a 1 bedroom in the central district for the $2,500 required because you used the most expensive material that required thousands of man-hours to put together.

by: Steve

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 20:07:52 +0000

I don’t really mind the balcony-less new apartments as much — shared balconies are nice, but when I lived in a building with one, I barely used it. That said, I don’t smoke.

Those tall townhouse fences are terrible, though. I’d really like to see a land use code that encourages walk-up row houses a la old eastern cities. That would probably require bigger developments or less parking, unfortunately…

by: Matt the Engineer

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 17:31:46 +0000

Balconies? They’re just doors with cages.

I love the old-style shared balconies, though balconies seem to always just turn into smoking lounges and I prefer rooftop gathering areas (with enough space for a BBQ, for instance).

by: michael

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 17:22:37 +0000

Not this again…

Blame it on DPD, DCLU, and whatever visionless bureaucracy came before them, and the clueless/spineless politicians who have just recently become aware of things like streetscapes and urban livability…it is all their faults for allowing a code to be crafted that permits such schlock…

my cynical rant for the day…