The Rise of the McModern

By Kate Wagner, Curbed Seattle

Until around 2007, McMansions mostly borrowed the forms of traditional architecture, producing vinyl Georgian estates and foam Mediterranean villas.

But in the last 10 years, this has begun to change: McMansions are now being constructed in architectural styles from the 20th century, specifically modernism. We are witnessing the birth and the proliferation of modernist McMansions: McModerns.

Though McModerns are commonly found in the places where modernism itself thrives—indoor-outdoor climates like the West Coast and the Southwest, and near liberal cities on the East Coast—they are also beginning to pop up in burgeoning tech hotbeds south of the Mason-Dixon, such as central North Carolina and Atlanta, Georgia. McModern houses are following the trail left behind by NPR, Chipotle, and MacBook Pros: They've become popular with younger, tech-savvier, and more highly educated individuals.

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$30,000 in Scholarship Funds Available to Students Enrolled in Residential Construction Programs

Deadline to Apply is April 30, 2018

BELLEVUE, Wash—April 23, 2018—Nearly 82 percent of construction businesses struggle to find qualified skilled labor, according to a 2017 survey conducted by the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties (MBAKS) and Redfin. This labor shortage, area companies say, is a factor in too few homes being constructed and contributes to higher home prices.

In an effort to develop skilled labor for the industry, bring more homes to market, and help ease the costs of housing, MBAKS is working to attract more high school and college students to exciting careers in the construction and trades industries through education programs and scholarships.

Each year, MBAKS offers $30,000 in scholarships to students who are seeking education related to the homebuilding industry and are enrolled at qualifying technical, community college, and university-level programs within Washington state. Students can apply at mbaks.com/scholarships.

About the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties

Founded in 1909, the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties has grown to become the largest residential homebuilders association in the United States. With nearly 3,000 member companies, the association is dedicated to membership value, housing advocacy, community service, and financial stewardship throughout the Puget Sound region.

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$30-000-in-scholarship-funds-available-to-students-enrolled-in-residential-construction-programs

Builders

05/22/2017

Edmonds mother regains freedom with a wheel chair ramp

Builders

09/21/2017

Mercer Island City Council approves size restrictions on new houses

By Marc Stiles, Puget Sound Business Journal (subscription required)

The size of new houses on Mercer Island will be limited more than anywhere else in the region starting Nov. 1, when new restrictions that the city council approved on Tuesday take effect.

The council voted 5-1 to update the city's residential design standards and approved a new rule to protect mature trees.

The code update affects all of the 6,950 single-family lots on the island, which is a choice market for builders of new homes. The island's average household income of $183,200 is the Puget Sound region's second-highest behind Medina, according to Puget Sound Business Journal research.

New construction and remodeling projects can still be vested under the old code until the end of October, city spokesman Ross Freeman said.

After that, new homes won't be able to cover more than 40 percent of a lot, down from 45 percent. Maximum heights have been cut from 35 to 30 feet, and at least 30 percent of large trees must be kept when a lot under goes major construction. The rules also limit the amount of "hardscape" surfaces, such as decks and patios, to 9 percent of a lot.

Residents who pushed for the change raised concerns about how quickly the character of their neighborhoods have been changing, with old houses being replaced by larger ones.

While the city has been working on the update for about a year, critics say the city rolled out the new rules hither and yon, discussing different changes at different times. They were not discussed as a comprehensive package, according to the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties, which asked council members to slow down the process and consider their recommendations.

"This is a lose-lose. The (homebuilding industry) was not heard and the community's primary concerns were not addressed," David Hoffman, a government affairs staff member for the homebuilders, said after Tuesday's council vote.

People are still going to build big houses that will upset some neighbors, he said.

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mercer-island-city-council-approves-size-restrictions-on-new-houses