Socialist Cindy comes good

what would you call villas?

As a Hamiltonian of 5 years, now moved on, I think Neigh-neigh is a pratt.
Hamilton is an easy place to live, and, oddly, all the houses are different.
Unlike, say, … well let’s not buy into her cheap-shot, ignorant rubbish.
Declaring her true colours, saying “Don’t vote for me – I hold you in contempt”

I love it when these third-raters drop their guards and blow their own cover.
 People remember nastiness like this.

Yes Captain, the original housing corp houses were like that, as were the original Beazley Homes/Fletcher ones. Cannons Creek, Wainuomata and Taita are full of them and they looked great then, try driving around them now?. Botany is similar, all brick and tile, and is quickley going the same way. Maurice is actually right in part, same designs bring reduced costs, but only for Fletchers who have the capacity to produce mass housing. Most other housing in NZ is actually one off, or close to it. All have the frames made offsite by grunt labour, not robots. Same materials bring reduced cost.. lets all build in Harditec then!.

The problem with same design housing is it deteriates and needs up keep at the same time. Even areas of good upmarket housing suffer the same problem and having all the houses the same people take less pride in their little bit of uniqueness. Just llok at how areas like Ponsonby have gone in and out of fashion over the years. Part of that is the housing and areas becoming tired, values drop then new people come in, see cheap housing, do them up, the area increases in value, but it helps that housing has an individual nature to it so people have choice.

I’ve worked both sides, for a mass housing company in wgton years ago and now as an architect. With a mass housing company, we had basic cheap std plans. We never built one!. Everyone wanted something a bit unique. Everyone wanted internal garages, ensuites, walk in wardrobe etc etc… so the cheap housing got dearer. How many now by choice woudl not have those?. Not many, but they should as first home buyers. I even saw a first home buyer who wanted everything, new beds, new dining suite, new lounge suite, new wardrobe, new tv, double garage etc etc, then had to sell the second car to keep it!. Crazy. But thats not new, years earlier in the days oif Beazley i saw a person buy a section, in the 70′s, but needed to borrow a few coins to phone home on the pay phone… they extended themselves too far!. Cheap housing is as much about perception and people being realistic.

The other part of cheap housing is the monopoly of materials suppliers more than design. Concrete Blocks quoted to me in wgton for $12.00 a block polished, but thru a different auckland supplier $4.80 supplied to wgton. Problem was the Wgton supplier had power… no one would cart them south for fear of losing businesss. Gib the same thing in the 80′s. A major supplier tried to come in from Oz, gib shipped ship loads and sat it on the wharf in oz and threatend to flood the Oz market. the result was 3 warehouse’s full of gib here quietly sold off in mass and the Oz supplier went home. The power of a limited market.

Now as an Architect i am not expound all homes being architecturally designed either, but good design, suitable for the sites to help keep running costs down and keeping them simple.