Wretched Excess Dept: A 50,000 SF House
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09. 4.07
Arnold Chase doesn't want any publicity about his new house in West Hartford, Connecticut, would not be interviewed and cited the photographer for trespassing. But he had to file public planning documents so everyone knows that his new house is larger than Bill Gates' and only 4,000 square feet smaller than the White House. It is a modest 17,000 square feet above grade, but what lies beneath is a two-level, 33,500-square-foot basement complex, complete with a 103-seat movie theater, ticket booth, concession stand, game room and music annex, that will make it New England's largest occupied single-family home. According to Gopal Ahluwalia of the National Home Builders Association: "It's the same thing as why people buy a $150,000 car when the same function can be performed by a $25,000 car," Ahluwalia said. "I can afford it. I can have it. I want to have the biggest house in the world. Things like that." ::AP/Yahoo
AP continues:
Some question the morality of building a private home that large.
"Do you actually need to have that amount of space to live a good life?" said Susan A. Eisenhandler, a sociology professor at the University of Connecticut. "There are homeless people. There are impoverished people. There are serious social concerns, and we're not addressing that."
Not to mention the carbon footprint of the thing.
Interestingly, it was designed by Allan Greenberg, who worked with the great modernists Jorn Utson and Viljo Revell, and authored a book called "Architecture of Democracy" where the intro says
" Centered on his intriguing synthesis of the American republic's architectural and democratic traditions, Allan Greenberg's essay moves across geography and through history as the renowned architect and scholar makes the case that America's architectural tradition and political ideals are deeply connected. At the core of the American democratic architectural tradition is the modest, single-family house, which gave rise to the statehouse, the courthouse, the firehouse, the schoolhouse, the jailhouse, and the President's house (as it was known before it became the White House)....The Architecture of Democracy traces a common line from the earliest colonial settlements to the Western frontier of the nineteenth century and today's ultramodern city centers. The volume will imbue in its readers a newfound appreciation for the democratic ideals that American architecture strives to express and uphold."
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It will be awesome once all the baby boomers die. What a disgusting generation.
That's assuming that Gen X, Gen Y and beyond will be more thoughtful in our consumpsion.
This house is of course way over the top.
Just a quick correction, there are 17,000 sq. ft of house above the grade, nothing is at or near 17,000 ft. Just a small omittion but it really confuses us engineer types.
This guy's not alone. NBA-star LeBron James is building a 35,000+ sq. ft. monstrosity in Ohio.
http://www.newsnet5.com/sports/11402547/detail.html
As rediculous as this house is, I'm getting that nagging "cultural revolution" kind of feeling. Are we now starting a list of the the top unacceptable consumers? Will that list grow? Will the requirments to be on that list become smaller and smaller?
Spend your time calling out the boardroom scum who truly pollute this planet and consume all its resources. Ostentacious end consumers are simply an end result.
I have visited several "museums" in the past that were originally built as private homes (Viscaya in Miami is one). They have the common quality of being so ridiculously large that the decendents of the original owner can't afford to pay the property taxes, so they graciously donate it to the givernment.
At least this future public museum already has a movie theatre with concession stand built in.
Subconsciously, everyone must know that earth is dying and so some people are trying their best to milk the dying cow.
I probably wouldn't have a problem with this house if it:
A. Ran mostly off of solar power
B. Was built in a climate that was close to room temperature most of the year, reducing the needed power consumption.
This is why laws are created to regulate people, because people aren't bright enough to realize that even though they "CAN" do something, they probably "SHOULDN'T" do it for moral reasons.
So far someone can afford large house; why should he not be allowed to live in. There are large places/ villas all over the world, which has not used space properly. I think he is a wise man he has used 2/3rd of space for public functions, too.
Versailles.
Biltmore.
Bill & Melinda Gates Residence.
These estates, among the countless others are a testiment to what makes America great! If you work hard and take measured risks, God forbid, you could make a pile of money for yourself, and have the biggest house and most expensive car on the block. According to the sociologist, there are impoverished people, homeless people--yes there are. They chose to get sociology degrees to 'help' the indigenous people of Sub-Saharan Africa when what they all really need is to get real jobs and do something productive with their lives.
Boo freaking hoo.
Nice house though.
This home does not even compare to the excessive residence of David Siegel in Orlando. His 90,000 sf home features an indoor hockey rink(w/Zambini), 4 pools, one Olympic sized, a 200 seat capacity tennis stadium, 11 kitchens etc ad nauseum. It is grotesque! An article about his wife expecting their 6th child nauseated me to the point that I couldn't even finish reading it. She has a two story closet! Each child has it's own nanny. I mean please...what world do they live in? She was even madly planning her baby shower with her gift registration at Tiffany and Cartier.
you are all jealous are as $$ poor as I .
This is AMERICA people, if you can afford it, you can build it. Free enterprise, freedom of speech, frredom of... If you believe in civil rights then shut up. Mr. Chase is activiely pursuing happiness and we need to find ours elsewhere. The same person who has defended a pornagrapher's right to free speech, cannot justify being offended by this grandiose expenditure when freedom is just that, freedom. ...Next TOPIC !
One simple solution:
Factor in the true externalities and costs associated with products and price accordingly.
True costs: long term social and environmental impact utilizing full life-cycle analysis of products.
Remember, I have as much right/freedom to not be burdened with the externalities of his house just as much as he has the right/freedom to build it.