May 24, 2004

Modernist Housing Corner

The people behind the Glidehouse (previously mentioned here) have now, a few weeks later, unveiled a two-story version. I can't say that it strikes me as an improvement; if anything, it amplifies the flaws of the one-story version: a lack of "useful" storage (can you find a laundry area on the floorplan? I guess if you're young, hip, and living in the city, you go to the laundromat, or buy new clothes each week), and an obsession with bathrooms (three toilets in a three-bedroom house; I think that the architect must've grown up in a family where she always had to wait for the bathroom).

It does have the absolute best feature ever, though: a staircase that's entirely lined with bookshelves!

The people who are behind the house are rapidly backpedaling on how much is included in the $110-$120/square foot base price. First, the foundation and site prep were included ... now they're not. Originally, the house came with aluminum-frame windows standard, with wood as an upgrade -- now, you get vinyl, with the chance to upgrade to aluminum or wood. The base-level countertops, which were made out of some super-environmentally-conscious engineered material, are now "laminate".

Still, no matter how many extra costs they slap on, something like the Glidehouse might still come out ahead of the chilling alternatives ...

Posted by Kevin at May 24, 2004 08:41 PM