Slums of Beverly Hills (and almost everywhere else)

Generally, I'm all for freedom. I love liberty. If what you're doing doesn't affect my life, you knock yourself out at whatever it is that blows air up your dress. But not when it comes to architecture, it might be time for a LOT more government interference, at least in the United States. My specific beef is with municipalities that allow homeowners to build homes in a mish-mash of styles, regardless of the landscape, climate or architectural tradition of the place.

For an example of how residential architecture should be done, look at this Tuscan hill town...
...or this village in Germany...
...or this hamlet in the Cotswolds...



Now contrast those with these examples.

First, here are a couple that work in Beverly Hills...

They work because they respect the Spanish heritage of the region, and the climate of the LA basin. The question is, why within just a few blocks do we find all of THESE houses?





Two of these homes were actually next door to each other. And that happens throughout Beverly Hills -- you drive and find Tudor next to modern next to Spanish next to Italianite next to colonial. There is no thought given to how a home relates to its neighbors or to the community at large.

There are ways to balance the need for individual freedom and creativity with the desire to enhance the sense of community through architectural unity. Look at these examples from Seaside, Florida. Seaside is a planned community where homeowners have the opportunity to create an individual home, yet are required to adhere to certain design standards, such as having porches of a certain minimum size and staying within a proscribed color palette. The architects who planned the community established the code which provides a balance of both freedom and restriction.

Here's the result...
I don't have a problem with my sensibilities being offended -- as long as you don't do it in such a long-lasting, public medium like architecture.