Robert Sharp

"The architect alone is responsible for what leaves his drawing board and carries his signature. No politician or developer will bear the architect's guilt for a botched environment." Rob Krier

@shawngorham @RandallHouseRE

A cycling friend has been in Bentonville all week riding bikes - he has raved about it Are we sleeping on Bentonville?

We used to have these. They were called Apartment Hotels. They’d consist of a single room with a bathroom, housecleaning, a cafeteria and lounges. Imagine being able to rent month to month and not need to furnish an apartment. It was ideal. Nuts we got rid of these.

One thing you’ll notice on old homes is, the roof lines are always reasonable and exist due to the structure of the house requiring it. In this case, a gabled roof with the ends perpendicular to the front of the house, gabled dormer on the second floor looking out. They chose to make the entry gabled over the stairs, but that was a style decision, and it makes sense. Modern homes have the most ridiculous roof lines that don’t correspond to anything inside the house.

This will spark some controversy 😂🙄 We pour all our driveways on every single house or townhome we build PRIOR to framing. 95% of our projects are specs. We’ve been doing it this way for 15+ years… PROS: -Keeps the jobsite immaculately clean. -Very few calls from the stormwater guy. -Materials stay out of the mud. -Concrete guys never have to come back which saves $$$$ on every bid we get. CONS: -Driveway gets dirty (power wash it). -Framers have to keep lift off driveway. We were called crazy & stupid so many times when we started doing this by subcontractors, realtors & our competitors. In 15+ years we’ve never lost a house sale or townhome sale because of it, and it’s saved us hundreds of thousands of dollars when you multiply the savings over hundreds of homes & townhomes. We poured this driveway yesterday at our Nicklaus Circle spec 👊🏽 Framing will start next week.

@nealjclark1 Highly likely to have a good outcome there.

Going to make a little Victorian veranda for a customer. Will be fun I think

@CharlestonArchi I feel that we need a program where useful neighborhood businesses like hardware and office supply stores are eligible for philanthropy, just like opera houses and museums.

What you could walk to in walkable Charleston 20 years ago: Furniture stores, appliance stores, hardware stores, paint stores, frame shops, florists, bakeries, restaurants, bars, cafes. What you can walk to in walkable Charleston today: Restaurants, bars, cafes.

@kylej2444 @RandallHouseRE HPRs are uncommon here. The previous owner understood the value of the unit as a rental and probably had some serious owner fatigue.

@RandallHouseRE How could an owner not know if they could retail sell units for 60k more a unit? Retarded?

Bought these townhomes in July for $150k/unit on a cap rate. Older seller did it realize the retail value of these units if sold individually. This arbitrage exists in any market where homes are north of $250k and strong fundamentals. No construction loans No permits No contractors Keep offering.

Some of us were just put on this earth to draw townhouses.

The homes in Lonsdale Square, Islington, are like few other buildings in London. Finished in 1845 in a Gothic Revival style, they take you entirely by surprise, emerging unexpectedly from the surrounding Georgian terraces.

Family friendly density

@AustinTunnell @bobbyfijan And, of course, creating more places where people want to live.

@bobbyfijan This is such an important distinction. People cannot afford a house where they WANT to live. Just as important an issue, but also means the solution isn’t just “build more housing”. It’s: “build the right kind of housing” in the right place

The housing crisis: People cannot afford a place where they WANT to live Existing homes are cheap in rust belt cities. And DR Horton can build brand new homes for $100/SF in any greenfield suburb The *problem* is that we are not allowed to build AND that it’s expensive to build in those places where people want: Which are cities that are close to employment AND (or) cities with good school districts

I believe that instead of building apartments for NPCs, we should be building great buildings that enhance the character and personality of our cities, instead of erasing them. Our proposal for mixed-use development of 30 apartments and 6 townhouses for Richmond on Main Street.

Yes! I'm constantly going back and forth between paper and the computer. @stevemouzon (I think it was you) has a lovely line about how a computer program is great for when you know where the lines need to go, and a pencil is great for when you don't know where the line needs to be.

These euro “glow ups” are so depressing because the ugly “before” building is like an 8 or 9 in the US

Male nightstand

“Developers should build affordable housing” is like saying “Manufacturers should make used cars”

I love seeing what the Roman Empire was able to achieve in Oklahoma. Very impressive.

I love seeing what the Roman Empire was able to achieve in Oklahoma. Very impressive.

I rather like this illustration for a proposed new Art Deco inspired hotel at the Earls Court development, by EPR Architects. With its green glazed terracotta forms, it's yet another example of a return of ornament in mainstream architecture.