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Article: Simpler Design Helps Stretch Housing Dollar
- Article from:
- Chicago Sun-Times
- Article date:
- July 28, 1995
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 1995 Chicago Sun-Times. (Hide copyright information)
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Goodbye gables, turrets and roofs so steep you could toboggan
down them.
Hello, plain old boxes.
That's the simplified version of a trend in homebuilding toward
more useful and simple construction and away from fancy angles and
geegaws.
"It's a focus on function or utility as opposed to drama and
schmaltz," said Tracy Cross, head of a Schaumburg consulting firm
that bears his name. He calls it zero-based housing: what you would
build if you could start all over again. The "zero base" is the
customer, and the intent is to find out how he or she actually lives
and build to those wishes.
"There isn't a customer in the world that said they wanted a
turret on their front doorsteps," ...