McMansion

A "McMansion" under construction

McMansion is a slang architectural term which first came into use in the United States during the 1980s as a pejorative description. It describes a particular style of housing that—as its name suggests—is both large like a mansion and as generic and culturally ubiquitous as McDonald's fast food restaurants.

In addition to ubiquity, almost every reason to poke fun at McDonald's has been applied metaphorically to "McMansions". These criticisms include the deviation from traditional local or regional architectural style; a gaudy, sterile, mass-produced appearance; and perceived negative effects on nature and neighborhoods.

Origins of the "McMansion"

Starting in the U.S. boom years of the 1980s, the houses now known as McMansions were a new concept intended to fill a gap between the modest suburban tract home and the upscale custom homes found in gated, waterfront, or golf-course communities. Subdivisions comprising McMansions have been developed around such communities, while others are built in pre-existing neighborhoods, either in empty lots or as replacements for torn-down structures.

It has been suggested that their popularity may not be purely based on consumer desires. Adjusted for inflation, in terms of square footage and features, a house in 2006 costs about the same to build as a house in 1970. Therefore, in order to increase profit margins over previous years, builders need to build more expensive houses (more features and square footage) on the same tracts.

Although the term "McMansion" is recent, criticism of American architecture based on the perception that it was oversized and artistically bankrupt reaches at least back to the beginning of the twentieth century. As the social critic H. L. Mencken wrote during the 1920s when examining the architecture of suburban Pittsburgh:

Here was wealth beyond imagination - and here were human habitations so abominable that they would have disgusted a race of alley cats...[Architects] have taken as their model a brick set in end. This they have converted into a thing of dingy clapboards, with a narrow, low-pitched roof. And the whole they have set upon thin, preposterous brick piers. By the hundreds and thousands these abominable houses cover the bare hillsides, like gravestones in some gigantic and decaying cemetery. (Mencken, The Libido for the Ugly, Prejudices: Sixth Series, 1927).

In England similar concerns bothered every generation since at least the 18th century such as when Romanticist Dorothy Wordsworth in her Recollections of a Tour Made in Scotland (1803) lamented Drumlanrig Castle saying "This mansion is indeed very large; but to us it appeared like a gathering together of little things."

The spread of the "McMansion"

As developments of large houses have spread, a number of similar, related terms have been coined, including "Beltway Baronial," "Starter Castle," "Monster Homes" (Canada),"Tract Mansions," "Mini-Taj Mahals," "Garage Mahals," "Big Foot," "Big Hair House" (Texas), "Texas Tuscan," "Jumbo Abode," "Gable-opolis" and "faux chateau." The term "parachute home" refers to the perceived disregard for regional and immediate site considerations (as if the home had just been dropped from the sky). Closely related, but significantly different in both physical characteristics and social associations, are the "Persian palaces" of Los Angeles.

The large tract house phenomenon has spread beyond the United States into other Western countries with large land areas and low population densities, such as Canada and Australia. In Canada, Monster Homes are quickly becoming a trend in suburban areas, where the land is cheaper. Many older, smaller houses are being torn down to accommodate these McMansions. In Australia, McMansions started to appear during the 1990s in outer suburbs of Sydney and Melbourne, often fueled by new freeway projects such as the M2 in the Hills region of Sydney.

The term is less often used to describe houses situated within existing urban areas. Usually, smaller cottage-style houses have been demolished to make way for these homes. They are not usually built as a "development cluster" which is managed by a homeowners association; rather, they are built by their owners as a single dwelling.

Some Middle Eastern nations, particularly those infused with oil wealth, have seen the large-scale importation of many U.S. American concepts, including sprawling, inexpensive pseudo-Mediterranean architecture, usually for hotels/resorts but also for domiciles.

Characteristics

McMansions vary greatly in their appearance and layout. While many of the following features are often found among these types of houses, they are not all required in order for a house to be considered a McMansion.

Space and size

The foremost characteristic of a McMansion is the impression of its largeness, particularly when compared with smaller, older nearby housing.

This style of house will usually have two floors, although it is common for some ground floor rooms (particularly foyers and "great rooms") to be two stories tall. McMansions can also be one-story, but these usually feature a facade appearing to be 2-story. Simpler versions will have a standard rectangular footprint, while more complex (and usually more expensive) floorplans will have additional wings or projections. Roofs are usually voluminous; they are often constructed with framing that, while inexpensive, makes the upper interior space unsuitable for attic storage or additional rooms.

The typical square footage is in the range of 3000 (280 m²) to 5000 ft² (460 m²). In previous decades, modest but comfortable living space for a family of two adults and two children was long considered to provide: two small bedrooms, one larger bedroom, a single large bath, a living room intended for both daily and formal use, a dining area also for daily use and a modest kitchen, with laundry space provided within a one or two car attached garage. Now, in countries where McMansions are popular, only two bedroom, two bath condominiums, single duplex units, or individual zero-lot line pairs are likely to be this size and marketed more to affluent bachelors/bachelorettes, childless couples, and/or empty nesters and generally not intended for families with children.

An example of a recently constructed "McMansion"

Construction and materials

While their general appearances may be quite similar, the quality of construction and use of materials often varies greatly between different developers, and even between different houses built by the same developer. McMansions are most commonly framed with generic materials to facilitate construction, using the same wood-framed studwall construction as smaller houses, typically with 2x6 (38×112 mm) studs, while also incorporating more expensive surfacing materials such as hardwood, stone, tile, ironwork, and upscale appliances. Architectural features typically include more and larger rooms and extra lifestyle conveniences.

Advances in building technology have provided less costly ways for features to be incorporated. Large rooms, with large ceiling areas, would not have been possible without metal connector plates to unify the wooden struts, which can be nailed by hand. Alternatively, 5-way or larger pre-fabricated wooden trusses can be used. This allows much larger roofs over an unsupported span, without the expense of metal I-beams or concrete spans. The use of trusses also allows substantial flexibility in the partitioning of interior spaces to form rooms and is an advantage to both builders and homeowners. To builders, it eases the production of variations suitable for various family sizes and age ranges, and to homeowners, the lack of interior load-bearing partitions facilitates easy home remodeling.

Exterior style

In addition to the general impression of largeness, the other common feature is the tendency to incorporate architectural elements from non-native historical styles. The styles most commonly drawn on are classical and neoclassical architecture, or the half-timbered European styles, particularly English, Tudorbethan, Jacobethan, and French chateau styles. The signal characteristic of the McMansion is that these various elements are combined ungrammatically and disproportionately, often seemingly at random.

Elements taken from these architectural styles are often decorative, rather than design or construction features. The most common decorative elements used are columns, roofs, porches, and windows. Roof spaces that contain rooms rather than attics offer ample opportunity for dormers and cross-gables. Porches, being the focus of the front elevation, are often columned and pedimented with oculus or "bull's-eye" windows. Windows, particularly in the reception rooms, are very large, and may take the form of French doors or Palladian windows (also known as Venetian and Serlian windows), in which a central arch-headed window is flanked by narrower rectangular windows.

Another characteristic often found is the use of a more expensive building material, such as brick or stucco, on the front side of the house and a much cheaper material, such as vinyl siding, on the sides not directly facing the street.

Entrances

A formal entrance that provides a focus for the front elevation is a common feature. A porch or portico is common; rarer is a porte-cochere, a kind of very large porch taken from neoclassical architecture that was originally intended to be large enough to allow carriages to drive underneath. Doors for the formal entrance will often be large and ornate.

The formal entrance of the house may be echoed by large gatepiers at the driveway entrance, even in the absence of a gate or fence.

New McMansions under construction in Marlboro, New Jersey.

Garages

Houses may have sweeping driveways and an attached garage for three or more vehicles. Detached garages are typically for 3 or more vehicles and are oversized to accommodate storage and work areas. Garage doors are often oriented perpendicular to the street, and ornamental windows placed facing the street, to avoid the "garage with a house attached" look of much 1970's homebuilding.

Golf course or lakeside developments will often have an additional shed for a golf cart or small boat storage. Some developments offer the option of a taller and deeper third garage to accommodate an RV or boat on a trailer.

Interior arrangement

The interior is usually traditional in layout, with reception rooms and kitchen on the ground floor, and sleeping accommodation on the upper floor. The now prerequisite master bedroom suite (a combination of sleeping area, closets, and private bath) is generally located on the first floor. Tertiary rooms, such as studies and gamerooms are usually present.

Large spaces

Floorplans frequently include large rooms, often in the form of an atrium-style hall which extends upwards through the height of the house and which features a striking staircase, or alternately a "great room". The great room is often tall as well and may have a "cathedral" ceiling following the pitch of the roofline, a balcony that serves as part of the upstairs hallway, or both. The great room generally takes one of two forms: it is either an open-plan space that incorporates several uses, or a formal drawing room-style reception area. In the latter case, a formal dining room is often found as a complement.

The Ten-Minute House

The movement of the "atrium concept" home layout from popularity to ubiquity in modern American architecture stems largely from the "Ten Minute House" theory that has been espoused by real estate developers, realtors, and home builders. Economic changes in recent decades have made Americans change jobs more frequently, often necessitating moving. Today, the average American family will change houses every six years. Consequently, houses change owners more frequently and thus must be designed to be marketable and appealing to as many people as possible, with less emphasis placed on the specific needs of the house's initial buyer. Most realtors agree that a client will like or dislike a house within ten minutes of entering. Combining a home's foyer with a two-story 'great-room' leaves secondary rooms more visible, making it easier for agents to show the house — and hopefully win the client over — in ten minutes or less.

Smaller reception rooms

Smaller reception rooms may provide alternatives to the great room, in order to preserve its formal character. A family room is quite common, as are additional rooms to serve as informal living rooms, libraries, or home offices.

Family rooms provide space for family entertainment such as casual television watching or playing video games; a higher-end McMansion may also feature a theatre room, complete with raised seating and a rear projector with screen. The family room is typically either adjacent to the kitchen or incorporated into an open-plan space that includes the kitchen and an everyday dining area.

Houses with no formal dining room are becoming increasingly common. American families, particularly dual-income middle and upper-middle class families, tend to dine out more and do less formal entertaining at home, making a formal dining room superfluous for many homebuyers.

Technical features

McMansions typically include a large number of modern, high-tech features. Often, these houses will have as many bathrooms as bedrooms, and the master bath will usually include additional spa-like features, such as dual sinks, a whirlpool tub, a separate shower, or a sauna.

Lighting systems may be complex, with large banks of switches or computerised controls. Television, telephone, cable, and Ethernet wiring will often be included throughout much of the house. Some homes also contain centralised audio, with independent volume controls for each room of the house.

Kitchens are generously sized and contain high-tech appliances and features, such as built-in refrigerators with panels that match the kitchen cabinets, built-in vegetable steamers, granite countertops, multiple ovens, or specialized wine-storage refrigerators.

Nomenclature

The naming of streets and the subdivision itself are a major part of a developer's marketing strategy.

A common practice is to employ references to Europe, particularly place names and the British peerage system, to convey an upscale, exclusive atmosphere. Some social critics say that this is a manifestation of Anglophilia and snob appeal. These neighborhoods tend to have names like "Coventry," "Barrington," "Manorcliff" or "Knightsgate."

Italian and Mediterranean names have become en vogue recently, likely due to the increased popularity of Mediterranean architectural styles in America. Developers often build entire neighborhoods of practically identical stucco-and-tile edifices, and cement the theme by christening the developments "Siena," "Terra Bella" and other appellations that intend to invoke an exotic charm.

Regional variations occur on these themes. In the South, many developers attempt to create an upscale atmosphere through references to the plantation lifestyle of the antebellum South, e.g. "Plantation Creek," "Belle Terrace," "Oakhurst" or the like.

Some developers will use the more understated approach of employing references to the natural wildlife that existed on the site prior to construction. While some developments do this effectively, incorporating natural features into architects' plans, cheaper or more poorly done endeavors often completely eliminate on-site flora, making names like "Oak Ridge" or "Laurel Hill" ironic, and leading critics to label developments "places where they cut down the trees and name the streets after them". Developers also often employ natural names that are anachronistic to the site itself, or simply contradictory. This is best exemplified by neighborhoods called "Forest Meadow" or "Valley Hill." In the film You, Me and Dupree, Matt Dillon's character is criticized when he questions the decision of his boss-cum-father-in-law to name his new neighborhood, located in the middle of a desert, "The Oaks at Mesa Vista."

Additionally, the home models themselves are given upscale names such as Dorchester, Avalon, Monticello, Panola, Ashford, etc.

Other characterizations

Implicit in the term "McMansion" is that many people choose to live in them. The trend gives middle and upper-middle class households greater access to desired luxury housing options that were previously only available to much wealthier homeowners. While this may be perceived as a general indicator of the increasing wealth of the middle class (previously the middle class was generally only able to afford much smaller homes with fewer amenities) the reality is that people are taking on increasing per capita debt.

Developers that sell such homes generally reject the pejorative use of the term 'McMansion.' They counter criticism by pointing out that they build what people want, they sell quickly, and that they use less land for these dwellings, conserving expensive building lots. "We call them luxury move-up homes," says Rob Parahus, a developer.

Broader criticisms associated with the term "McMansion"

Size

Another criticism that has been leveled at "McMansions" is that they leave a damaging footprint on the native soils, grasses, and wildlife as soon as construction begins. However, all construction, large or small, incurs temporary damage to the landscape.

Even in affluent locations which already have a ready assortment of large houses, the construction of what seems to be too large a house on an existing lot will often draw the ire of neighbors and other local residents. In 2006 for example, a home in Kirkland, WA (an affluent suburb on Seattle's Eastside) was built that was only 4 feet (1.2 m) away from the neighbouring home. In other nations citing Australian suburban developments, homes could be built on the fence line, where in many cases no gap between neighbouring homes are left and in some developments split occupancy housing has come into fashion.

While the average American family has shrunk in size, the average American home has grown. In 1974, average single family home was 1,695 square feet (157 m²); in 2004 it was 2,349 square feet (218 m²). The average family size, on the other hand, has fallen from 3.1 people in 1974 to 2.6 people in 2004.

The larger amount of space in a McMansion means that much of the home's volume is not used as much or as efficiently as the space in a smaller house. Rooms often go infrequently used; this is particularly the case with great rooms and formal dining rooms.

A substantial amount of a typical McMansion's square footage goes toward large hallways, aiding the maximum visibility required for the "Ten Minute House" concept. The individual rooms in a McMansion, particularly secondary bedrooms, are often no bigger than in earlier housing.

The large, numerous windows that are sometimes used in the great room can result in buildings that are much more expensive to cool and heat, especially if the house has been designed without consideration for its orientation relative to seasonal sun paths or without proper insulation. Large rooms, especially those with high ceilings, are frequently more expensive to heat.

Because of their size and low population density, McMansions contribute to urban sprawl and increase commuting or traveling time in developed communities.

The extra space in a McMansion allows for new and unique uses for rooms in the home. One anomalous report describes a room solely for the family dog, with a special dog shower. The large number of rooms, along with their vastness, sometimes leads critics to complain of conspicuous consumption in furnishing them.

Exterior lighting is often profuse and varied, usually designed more for dramatic effect (such as aesthetic lighting for trees and gardens) than practicality or security. Critics sometimes assert it is both wasteful of energy and contributes to a growing light pollution problem.

Social effects

In some jurisdictions, in order to combat perceived urban sprawl from nearby metropolitan areas, local counties have designated a minimum plot size. The plot size is often a matter of great local political debate between housing developers, county officials, and local residents. Developers will typically seek a variance to allow houses to be built on smaller properties, often with the promise of using some of the land for parks or open space. When a variance is not granted, plot sizes end up being "too small to farm, too large to mow," and are sometimes criticized as a poor use of land resources which ultimately contributes to further sprawl, rather than preventing it.

In other jurisdictions, there may be a minimum area requirement for the house, designed to promote a consistently upscale neighborhood but with the (possibly intentional) effect of keeping out lower-income residents by forcing the houses to be larger and thus more expensive. This can stratify economic groups by neighborhood, and some worry that this stratification will lead to a more broadly inegalitarian society (e.g., by causing de facto economic segregation in neighborhood schools).

Social criticisms

The term "McMansion" is sometimes used as a criticism of capitalistic culture as a whole. It has been used in the context of "the biggest house on the smallest block for the lowest price" —- criticism of the quality of the construction, criticism of the perceived wastefulness of said developments, and criticism of their effect on nature.

The term is sometimes also used to negatively stereotype the owners and residents of such houses, with reference to their taste (or purported lack thereof) and their aspirations. In this context, the term may imply conspicuous consumption: that the houses are bought on the principle of paying the lowest dollar-per-square foot price in order to "get more house for the money," or that the sizes of the houses display the owners' wealth and social status..

While McMansions may be stereotyped in these ways, similar criticisms are sometimes made of large suburban developments in general, as development strategies, design, and construction methods are similar in these types of developments as well.

Aesthetic criticism of McMansions

McMansion in Munster, Indiana. Note the limitation of the expensive facing materials to only the street side and the disruption of the classical symmetry of the main household by the dominating three vehicle garage.

One common aesthetic complaint is that McMansions are overly ostentatious; for example, the front facade may include multiple gables, plus blind dormers, porticos, and a staggered garage, moved forward from the body of the house, and facing the street. This could also encompass traditionally functional elements, like shutters, now used as non-functional ornament, or more generally a poor choice of ornamental elements for that building and site.

Another complaint is that the ornament looks 'cheap' or perfunctory. For example, a common cost-saving measure is to use brick or stone only on the front of the house, and substitute vinyl or clapboard siding on the sides and rear.

The specific styles of architecture used are also sometimes criticized because they are not native to the local area, and because features from various different architectural styles are mixed. Defenders of the McMansion style of architecture claim that builders respond to what their customers want and that today's architecture is at least more interesting, albeit more ersatz, inferior, than that of the Levittown tract houses of the last century.

Criticism of McMansions has a certain element of class distinction. Critics often consider the McMansion's owners, even if wealthier, to have less refined taste than the critics' own. Owners meanwhile feel that if they are in fact wealthier, that proves they have more refined taste than critics; old money has to start out as new money.

Associated terms

Other (usually) derisive terms used to refer to McMansions and their parts:

• Antiseptic Community
• Beltway Baronial
• Big Foot House - referring to the relative large area of the site taken up by the building. Also can refer to the large size of the property on which the McMansion sits.
• Bubba the Builder - pejorative term referring to the unimaginative builders of McMansions. The Bubbas have made pressboard, liquid nails, particle board, and other low cost building materials popular. They specialize in making big boxes with pointing things called roofs, which they often refer to as custom homes. They subscribe to a "bigger is better mentality" and will generally sacrifice quality for size.
• Carpet Bombing House - another term for McMansions, particularly those built in great swathes in a relatively short period of time.
• Faux chateau
• Gable-opolis - a reference to the overwrought complexity of rooflines used to emphasize the mass of the building.
• Garage Mahals - custom-built large garages; or, garages renovated in to a home. Possibly associated with McMansions.
• Hummer House
• Lawyer Foyer - another term for McMansions. Also refers to the two-story entry space typically found on many McMansions which is meant to be visually overwhelming but which contributes little to the useful space of the house.
• Mini-Taj Mahals
• Muscle House - refers to the garishly beefy, hefty, strongman look of the structure, reminiscent of the Muscle Cars of the late 1960's and early 1970's.
• Parachute home - refers to the alleged disregard for regional and immediate site considerations (as if the home had just been dropped from the sky)
• Persian Palace - a variety of McMansion stereotypically associated with wealthy Iranian-Americans in Los Angeles, sometimes incorporating debased elements of Iranian architecture
• Starter Castle - see 'The spread of "McMansions"' above.
• Tract Mansions
• Monster Mansions
• Frankenhouse
• Colonial Reproduction of Amended Periods or C.R.A.P.
• Plywood Palazzo
• Pocket Mansion - draws a comparison to the Deutschland class cruiser of the early 1930's. These were called "Pocket Battleships" by the British because they featured heavy firepower in a relatively small vessel.
• Vulgaria - A neighborhood of McMansions, especially where older homes with smaller footprints were demolished and replaced.

Outside the U.S.

File:DSC01172suburban.JPG

Smaller McMansions line a street in Perth, Western Australia

• The term "McMansion" is also used in the Toronto area of Canada, where wealthy, relatively new suburbs are common.

• In Australia, suburbs of Perth, Adelaide and Sydney are known for having McMansions. Probably the most famous places in Australia for having McMansions are Baulkham Hills and Hornsby, both in the Sydney Metro area.

• In New Zealand, some of the upper middle-class suburbs of Auckland and Wellington have a growing number of McMansions.

Gallery

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  A McMansion in Needham, Massachusetts, emulating a modest farmhouse "original" construction on the right and a much larger "later addition" to the left, simulating local historic buildings in the area dating from the 18th and 19th centuries
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  "McMansion" under construction
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See also

• Urban sprawl
• United States housing bubble
• McChurch (religion)
• McDojo (martial arts)
• McJob (employment)
• McWords
• One-off housing
• Snout house
• Tract house

External links

• Crowded land of giants,
• "Not every higher-end buyer wants McMansion" by Abbott Koloff, Daily Record
• "The McMansion Next Door" by Cathleen McGuigan, Newsweek
• "Are McMansions Going out of Style?" from the New York Times, October 2005.
• "Taste for Space Is Spawning Mansions Fit for a Commoner" from the Washington Post, November 2005.
• McMansion Invasion Photographs of McMansions in one neighbourhood.
• Photographs of a McMansion's interior, including the tall hallway with chandelier.
• The McMansion Glut