Our Position on Teardowns and McMansions
*United StatesAcross the nation a teardown epidemic is wiping out historic neighborhoods one house at a time. As older homes are demolished and replaced with dramatically larger, out-of-scale new structures, the historic character of the existing neighborhood is changed forever. The National Trust for Historic Preservation believes historic neighborhoods can and should be protected from teardowns, through a variety of tools and approaches that manage this type of growth. Because there is no "one-size-fits-all" solution or "magic bullet" that will stop teardowns, communities should expect to use a combination of tools.
Submitted by MK Bailey at: June 26, 2009
I just wanted to share a program from the neighborhoods of Southwest Minneapolis (many of which have had numerous experiences with tear downs.) The BLEND (Buildings and Landscapes Enhancing the Neighborhood through Design) awards (http://blendaward.org/) are given out annually to builders, architects, and home owners to blend newly remodeled or constructed homes and businesses into the fabric of southwest Minneapolis neighborhoods. A jury of industry professionals and neighborhood residents will select projects for recognition. Just one small way to reward those who are respecting and enhancing the character of the neighborhoods.
Submitted by Andrea at: April 2, 2009
I would include flips in this category. The McMansions and pop-ups in Denver are obnoxious Home Depot projects which overwhelm quaint neighborhoods. Those of us who are conscious of this destruction are mighty disappointed in these people who are not! Everywhere you look it's granite, textured walls, low-grade stainless steel, and berber. Not everyone likes this lame trend! The charm is being ripped out of these neighborhoods and replaced with vinyl siding and big screen t.v.'s! Move to the soulless suburbs to build that junk!!
Submitted by No2dogma at: January 18, 2009
While preservation of historic homes is essential, it's also important to recognize that many homes in historic neighborhoods are not historic and do not contribute to the historic character and period of the neighborhood/district. Many homes are out of place and the community is better served by replacing them with homes that are more in keeping with the local vernacular and historic nature of the neighborhood. Not all new construction is bad construction and automatically bad for the community even if it's larger than the house that stood before it. Larger replacement homes can be suitably well-scaled and the removal of unattractive, ill-fitting, non-contributing homes can be a real asset to the neighborhood.