Not nearly so bad as the jokes built by Mohamed Hadid. In fact, though oversized, the moderns are terrific design. Scale it down and I wouldn't mind living in one of those homes. The faux-Europeans are actually elegant in some regards. I expected to hate these houses but that Tuscan villa with the glass roof...wow.
9
I grew up two miles from the Biltmore House in Asheville, NC--"the largest private home in America" and a tribute to the Gilded Age's excesses. As a teen I went to parties there hosted by the great-great-grandchildren of the George Vanderbilt who built it; now it's a huge tourist attraction.
The overwhelming feeling when inside is how small it makes the human being feel; the only rooms that are comfortable are those with human proportions. These new mega-houses are no different except insofar as there are so many of them.
Oddly, the only houses showcased in the slide show that have any artistic merit and architectural appeal are the modern designs Mr. Landry has created. The steep-hillside house with the wonderful window wall showcasing the spiral staircase; the horizontal rectangle with an upper balcony; and his own house, rebuilt from "the studs" out, are all absolutely beautiful and welcoming.
Maybe we're jealous, maybe not; as for me, I've never fancied a house with ceilings so high I felt tiny and lost.
The overwhelming feeling when inside is how small it makes the human being feel; the only rooms that are comfortable are those with human proportions. These new mega-houses are no different except insofar as there are so many of them.
Oddly, the only houses showcased in the slide show that have any artistic merit and architectural appeal are the modern designs Mr. Landry has created. The steep-hillside house with the wonderful window wall showcasing the spiral staircase; the horizontal rectangle with an upper balcony; and his own house, rebuilt from "the studs" out, are all absolutely beautiful and welcoming.
Maybe we're jealous, maybe not; as for me, I've never fancied a house with ceilings so high I felt tiny and lost.
3
I live in a small house that I love. I am very sad to read all these envious and hateful comments. Mr. Landry seems like an ebullient and interesting man, whether or not we agree with his sensibilities. The article does not reveal who has commissioned his designs and gives us no basis to like or hate them. But without any relevant information, most commenters do not hesitate to condemn, despise and even propose ritual execution (multiple 1789 references). Maybe some or even most of the people who live in these houses are bad. But maybe they are good. We do not know and we should not reach these sweeping and ignorant conclusions.
11
What an excellent argument for raising tax rates. Way too much wealth is being concentrated in the hands of the few.
25
Last year my husband and I rebuilt our clifftop seaside home -- a two-storey structure based on a simple, rural Scottish design with timber cladding that will weather and silver and blend into the surrounding area. We worked hard to keep it as pared down as possible, but also weather-tight, airy yet cozy, and as ecological as we could afford. Two bedrooms are all we need -- one for us and one for guests -- plus modest entertaining areas with views of the sea.
Which begs the question: how does a 28-bedroom, 32-bath Disneyfied megamansion qualify as an 'ultimate home'? And honestly, what is 'fun' about furnishing, managing and cleaning 30,000 sq ft of rooms? Madness.
Which begs the question: how does a 28-bedroom, 32-bath Disneyfied megamansion qualify as an 'ultimate home'? And honestly, what is 'fun' about furnishing, managing and cleaning 30,000 sq ft of rooms? Madness.
17
Many of the commenters seem to be focusing on the excess here, but blaming the architect. Let's celebrate the building side of humanity.
Now, to the people who own these megamansions, how many poor people could you house in 40,000 square feet?
Now, to the people who own these megamansions, how many poor people could you house in 40,000 square feet?
7
I'm glad to learn there are also architects for the "moneyed" cheeseball. So an educated professional won't have to waste his time trying to educate these kind of clients. I actually think Mr. Landry should open an office right down the border so my co-national drug dealers may satisfy their exquisite taste as well... So unfair to keep it only for the American Scarfaces!!!
5
I really cannot tell whether this is a pre-paid puff-piece, a blissed-out adulation, or a Colbert-quality take-down. Enlighten us, please.
7
While I have no need for a 40,000 Sq ft home, these dwellings are absolutely stunning. The attention to detail is amazing. I hope he doesn't develop a signature style. Variety seems to be the spice of his life.
12
Funny, did you notice how many of those homes had grand pianos? So strange. Or, at least I am betting that those pianos are not played -- unless someone is hired to do so for a party, of course. Everything for show. Houses, not homes.
9
Like a theme park's relationship to the world it mimics, the most consistent aspect of this work is the lack of authenticity. Every quality he cites, barring size, is in short supply. It must be frustrating to be so close, yet so far.
8
Thank you NYT for reminding us out here in the hinterlands that the deep civic shame that we feel as we watch the most expensive new houses that our community builds advertise the architectural and cultural illiteracy of our community's wealthiest class is a shame felt in all cities and towns, not just the smaller ones.
9
I am somewhat amazed at all the negative comments. Truly some jealous and non-accomplished bitter people on here. As an architect myself, I am very happy of the work of Mr. Landry. Just imagine how many craftsman are employed when building these homes. How else would you find work if not for some of these clients?? These large homes represent the possibility of imagination. Just think if you were successful to that point. You would not build your dream home for your family and yourself?? I'd like to see you earn $50m and then give it all away and live in a hut with a broken toilet. Yea right. These homes have a lot a class, taste and charisma.
And for him to have the ability to switch styles shows his skill as an architect. That's why he has a staff and they are always busy. So he is a good business man too. Giving the client what they want. Most designers couldn't compete with this.
I had a client criticize me for have designs that were 'bougie' as he put it. So I asked, should it be 'ghetto' instead? When I design...I imagine that I am living there too. I am thoughtful and considerate of the future home owner as Mr. Landry does as well. That's why I am very busy too. ;o)
Hate on people...hate on.
www.gaineskelly.com
And for him to have the ability to switch styles shows his skill as an architect. That's why he has a staff and they are always busy. So he is a good business man too. Giving the client what they want. Most designers couldn't compete with this.
I had a client criticize me for have designs that were 'bougie' as he put it. So I asked, should it be 'ghetto' instead? When I design...I imagine that I am living there too. I am thoughtful and considerate of the future home owner as Mr. Landry does as well. That's why I am very busy too. ;o)
Hate on people...hate on.
www.gaineskelly.com
15
Too bad money can't buy taste.
13
In the end, we all fit into a 7x3 or 7x2 box or smaller.
The end is very egalitarian.
The end is very egalitarian.
69
In the interim decades, these people will continue living life to the fullest with endless amounts of cash. But yeah, I guess that's a great consolation - hey, eventually we'll all be dead.
4
"Faux European Piles"
Next time I drive out of town guests through our wealthy neighborhoods and notice that they, like me, are speechless at the horrors of what new money can build-- I can now precisley define them, but never defend them.
Next time I drive out of town guests through our wealthy neighborhoods and notice that they, like me, are speechless at the horrors of what new money can build-- I can now precisley define them, but never defend them.
15
I wonder what people will say of these mega mansions 100 years from now. Today we look in awe at the Vanderbilt mansions, and judge them far less than the owners of these houses.
8
It must be exhausting to have to switch on every single electric light, indoor and outdoor, when a house is photographed. I hope there is an app that does that.
11
Yuk.
It wasn't chance that Frank Gehry did not return his call.
It wasn't chance that Frank Gehry did not return his call.
40
"Mr. Landry touched his hand to one of several rough-surfaced stone columns: 'These are brand new. We were beating them up with hammers and nails to make it look like it’s eroded over time.'"
What is of course absent in these charming hyperreal cobblestone walkways, reclaimed boards and all that fetish for an illusory object that never quite existed is the copious blood spilled on the real European cobblestone streets, the pockmarked bullet festooned exterior of any Old World building, and the screams of torment and anguish cemented into those very structures by the help. Let Mr. Landry replicate all that sweat, grime, and horror into his otherwise sterile architectural marvels too.
What is of course absent in these charming hyperreal cobblestone walkways, reclaimed boards and all that fetish for an illusory object that never quite existed is the copious blood spilled on the real European cobblestone streets, the pockmarked bullet festooned exterior of any Old World building, and the screams of torment and anguish cemented into those very structures by the help. Let Mr. Landry replicate all that sweat, grime, and horror into his otherwise sterile architectural marvels too.
17
Ludwig Mies van de Rohe, Frank Lloyd Wright, Walter Gropius, Pierre Koenig, Joseph Eichler, Cliff May, John Lautner, Richard Neutra, Julius Shulman, Raphael Soriano are just some of the names that spring to mind when you discuss architecture and innovation. We were meant to follow their lead and build beautifully designed, aethestically pleasing homes and buildings that mirror the modern era we now live in. The well-designed and affordable housing concept they left us with was not what developers and a new class of "architects" motivated by greed and gluttony have been building. In a time when the environment and overpopulation is a very real concern, these people place on the landscape atrocities. Row upon row of ugly, ill-conceived, poorly made thorns on the landscape. This man in this article makes third rate hotels masquerading as a wealthy person's home. Without a soul and without a consideration for beauty, the environment, what is good and right. If the great architects I mentioned could see the architectural landscape now, they would be horrified since they believed that they were breaking ground for what was to come. And instead, we have become, particularly in the United States, mediocre. A poverty of the imagination.
48
We are just jealous. We resent the fact that other people either inherited money, cashed in selling theoretical securites, being a politician, or hocking the Green movement, or made billions while riding on scooters in tech start ups.
We want these houses. We deserve these houses. We detest the people who live in these houses.
We want these houses. We deserve these houses. We detest the people who live in these houses.
11
Agreed, with one stipulation: some of us haters just have better taste. With all that money, I for one certainly wouldn't blow it on a ridiculously oversized Carrabbas restaurant.
45
What sane person would want a 30,000 square foot home?
7
You are absolutely correct.
1
These houses, as others have noted, are obscenely oversized. No matter how skilled the architect may be, houses of this nature are an insult to society. Along with consuming huge amount of resources to build and maintain, these houses will never be part of a neighborhood. They are simply too large to be part of a place where people walk and know their neighbors.
56
Mr. Landry should be extolled as the posterboy wanna-be for every architectural school student striving to become an architect to emulate.
This might save the planet from the long slow death of brought on us by global warming and over-exploitation of its resources. If every new house were designed and built like this architect builds them, the life would be sucked out of this planet in no time and much of length of time for all of us to realize what we'd just done.
As an architect for over 30 years, Mr. Landry's architectural feats are an embarrassment to my profession and social conscience. Not to mention a sad commentary on the state of wealth accumulation in this country and how is debases basic values and common sense.
This might save the planet from the long slow death of brought on us by global warming and over-exploitation of its resources. If every new house were designed and built like this architect builds them, the life would be sucked out of this planet in no time and much of length of time for all of us to realize what we'd just done.
As an architect for over 30 years, Mr. Landry's architectural feats are an embarrassment to my profession and social conscience. Not to mention a sad commentary on the state of wealth accumulation in this country and how is debases basic values and common sense.
48
Mistaking these homes with architecture would be like mistaking prostitution for love.
119
They're not homes. They're houses.
23
Exactly, Steve M.
A house is something you buy. A home is something you make.
A house is something you buy. A home is something you make.
15
And to think that my husband and I are currently struggling to figure out how we might buy a house for around $250,000 in a nice neighborhood of our choice. We both have good jobs, but just can't afford it.
I won't begrudge the 1% their fabulous lifestyle and mega houses, but it does make me wonder what we did wrong.
I won't begrudge the 1% their fabulous lifestyle and mega houses, but it does make me wonder what we did wrong.
33
Tamara – I hear ya. About four decades ago I asked the late Malcolm Forbes what was the easiest way to make my first million dollars. His answer, "Start with $900,000." In other words, sometimes its talent, other times its an accident of birth.
28
And, sometimes it is just pure luck.
2
The great irony here is that rising ocean levels -- the result of climate change exacerbated by the kind of obscene conspicuous consumption Mr. Landry is encouraging and facilitating -- may soon submerge his luxury beachfront property.
57
So much excess in a country with children going hungry and people living on the streets strikes me as morally reprehensible.
33
You have no idea how much money some of these people donate to the needy and worthy causes. Get off your high horse, and stop judging others.
5
Some of these remind me of the Olive Garden.
84
Vanity of vanities, and all is vanity, besides loving God and serving Him alone. This is the highest wisdom: by despising the world to tend to heavenly kingdoms.
"Many of the young and wealthy people I met at these house-parties are now dead. I sometimes remember their fine country houses and beautiful grounds, and think how useless all their possessions are to them now...."
---St Theresa of the Child Jesus.
"Many of the young and wealthy people I met at these house-parties are now dead. I sometimes remember their fine country houses and beautiful grounds, and think how useless all their possessions are to them now...."
---St Theresa of the Child Jesus.
5
Certainly there is plenty to commend Mr. Landry for in the design of these homes, but what about some attention given to hard work of the many people that took this vision to reality? I can't even imagine how many people worked long hours to create such beautiful homes. One doesn't just conjure a castle out of thin air, it's built, brick by brick.
11
Hopefully some of these homes will exist for many years to come, they will be a real testament to the exuberance of our time, for good or bad. When we look at the residential real estate of the past, we look to these sort of homes to remind us of where we have been.
5
Simply said and simply true Michael. These structures will one day provide future generations with an understanding of our time that's richer and more meaningful than any current review. The personal strivings expressed by these unbridled buildings will inform many of the next generation's highest ideals, for good or bad. And history will decide whether what we created, and what we valued, was art or dross.
I just hope LA County, Orange County and the rest of SoCal are updating their real estate assessments on these homes so that public schools can teach the next generation of maids, gardners, and nannies to serve in these homes.
Interesting that the NYT runs this article on megamansions while last week it reported that home ownership among the middle class is at a multi decade low. Nice to know that this country has its priorities in the right place.
Interesting that the NYT runs this article on megamansions while last week it reported that home ownership among the middle class is at a multi decade low. Nice to know that this country has its priorities in the right place.
41
Proposition 13. They can't re-asses the value of the real estate in most cases. It is a major reason that California schools are in trouble.
10
That isn't true. Real estate taxes are assessed at 1.25% of the purchase price at sale, and the annual growth is capped at the lower of the inflation rate or 2%.
2
I like these homes and I like the talent - all of it - that made them possible.
And if the person who spent $50-million to build his dream home is also the one who stroked a $1-billion check for cancer research - then I like him too.
And if the person who spent $50-million to build his dream home is also the one who stroked a $1-billion check for cancer research - then I like him too.
11
Don't people understand where we are? We are facing an ecological crisis with an overuse of natural resources. We are also in California currently in an extreme drought. What is with this culture that encourages and celebrates this fin de siecle spending spree? It's out of control and reminds me of what I've read about the fall of the Roman Empire. Just looking at the size of these monstrosities fills me with dread for our kids future. Thankfully there are many amongst us who believe in building small with much less of an impact on our fragile environment. I have a description right now for people who build this sort of housing. Unconscious Status Seeking Squares. I feel a bit sorry for them actually to live in these oversized cavernous places. It reminds me of the house John Foster Kane built to house his jigsaw puzzle alcoholic girlfriend in the motion picture 'Citizen Kane'.
39
I was expecting to hate these houses - I've seen the McMansions of Westchester County and the Gold Coast of CT. But these are beautiful houses, with rooms that one might actually use.
Do I expect to someday live like this? Hardly! At age 71, I live in a very nice house that has 2800 sq ft - plenty for one old lady and two dogs. Last week when I bought $10 worth of Powerball tickets (something I do a couple of times a year!), I thought about whether I would move into my "dream house". I realized that no, I love what I have and it's plenty big enough for me. But I have no problem with those who want these huge houses - they earned the money, who am I to say how much they should spend on a house? Just building them had to give a boost to the construction trade economy - lots and lots of workmen to build such enormous places, and I'm sure they appreciated the jobs.
We need to get over envy. Remember, coveting is mentioned in the Ten Commandments - it's an ugly sin that does no one any good.
Do I expect to someday live like this? Hardly! At age 71, I live in a very nice house that has 2800 sq ft - plenty for one old lady and two dogs. Last week when I bought $10 worth of Powerball tickets (something I do a couple of times a year!), I thought about whether I would move into my "dream house". I realized that no, I love what I have and it's plenty big enough for me. But I have no problem with those who want these huge houses - they earned the money, who am I to say how much they should spend on a house? Just building them had to give a boost to the construction trade economy - lots and lots of workmen to build such enormous places, and I'm sure they appreciated the jobs.
We need to get over envy. Remember, coveting is mentioned in the Ten Commandments - it's an ugly sin that does no one any good.
27
It's not envy, it's about being sensible. And they did not earn the money.
4
So tacky. Can't the people who can afford these eyesores purchase real villas in Tuscany rather than construct faux ones in Los Angeles?
47
Have you ever attempted to restore a historic villa, in Italy? Good luck!
3
"More troubling is the criticism that has come with being the favored architect of the 1 percent."
It should not be that troubling since it is a great example of branding for a niche market. The 1% won't contract to anyone else but those whom their friends and competition have employed in the past. The herd feels comfortable with their own kind and the same stuff they have too.
It should not be that troubling since it is a great example of branding for a niche market. The 1% won't contract to anyone else but those whom their friends and competition have employed in the past. The herd feels comfortable with their own kind and the same stuff they have too.
11
I cannot afford to live in a home like the ones shown in the slide show.
However, if people have the money to pay for such homes and if Mr. Landry has the ability to build such homes (while employing many people in the process, I might add), then we have no business providing negative commentary.
The showing of envy, as in many of these comments, is not very tasteful either.
However, if people have the money to pay for such homes and if Mr. Landry has the ability to build such homes (while employing many people in the process, I might add), then we have no business providing negative commentary.
The showing of envy, as in many of these comments, is not very tasteful either.
13
Trust me, I would not like to live in any of these tacky houses, even if I had the money. It's not envy at all.
4
I agree with you. When did Americans become so full of hatred and envy towards their successful countrymen? Previously, I always viewed Americans, as a people, who applauded success and felt, if he/she can do that, then so can I.
Many of the one percent donate a vast amount of their their money to charity. Why begrudge them their dream homes?
Many of the one percent donate a vast amount of their their money to charity. Why begrudge them their dream homes?
2
I hate to say it, but this guy seems like a real sweetheart. And for Megamansions, these places don't look half bad. They don't look like McMansions. And his Malibu beach house looks great.
Sometimes you have to put your indignation aside, if only to ask: is he single?
Sometimes you have to put your indignation aside, if only to ask: is he single?
7
Stuart, OF COURSE he's good looking: He's French Canadian. All French Canadian men are hot.
7
This is whey the estate tax is the best tax ever and should be about 90% for anything over $5MM.
14
Money and taste are completely different:the Kennedy's proved that without a shadow of a doubt.
3
My favorite quote was, "True luxury, it seems, is the manipulation of reality." Yes, you must be manipulating quite a lot... like the fact that you must be pretty dull and a little taciturn if you need every last thing the world has to offer right at your fingertips. Or it might be more appropriate to say you're ignoring quite a lot. Like the fact that you're living to such excess while the rest of the nation struggles to get by.
It reminds me of Louis XIV building Versailles so he could get away from the stink, and turmoil in Paris. Landry is the new Jules Hardouin-Mansart, a title I'm sure he would be fine with. But one should remember that building this little 'escape,' didn't end well for the French aristocracy.
It reminds me of Louis XIV building Versailles so he could get away from the stink, and turmoil in Paris. Landry is the new Jules Hardouin-Mansart, a title I'm sure he would be fine with. But one should remember that building this little 'escape,' didn't end well for the French aristocracy.
26
No, but we all still flock to Versailles and marvel at its majesty.
3
"Where is style? Where is skill? Where is forethought?
Where's discretion of the heart? Where's passion in the art? Where's craft?"
(This is more a comment on the folks who have these "homes" built.)
Where's discretion of the heart? Where's passion in the art? Where's craft?"
(This is more a comment on the folks who have these "homes" built.)
7
If we bar the immigrants at the gates, who do the mega mansionites get to do the cleaning and the gardening? They are the ones who are either complaining about allowing illegals into the country or bringing in slave labor.
11
"Is it right or wrong for somebody to build a big home?", "I'm not the one to answer that question". Really? Mr. Landry might be the foremost person to answer that question. Who else?
The carbon footprint alone to build one of these homes is egregiously excessive, and that is besides the energy it will take to keep every cubic foot of these homes at 72°, 24 hours a day for decades to come. These homes have the environmental foot print of Godzilla not a common man.
It would be wrong to ask Mr. Landry to get a life, because he obviously has one. But he is past due for a soul.
The carbon footprint alone to build one of these homes is egregiously excessive, and that is besides the energy it will take to keep every cubic foot of these homes at 72°, 24 hours a day for decades to come. These homes have the environmental foot print of Godzilla not a common man.
It would be wrong to ask Mr. Landry to get a life, because he obviously has one. But he is past due for a soul.
51
To say nothing of 15,000 sq. foot house demolished to make room for a larger one. That must have made quite a footprint at the landfill.
2
french revolution
The "Great Fear" – Refers to the period of July and August 1789, when peasants sacked the castles of the nobles
and "nobles" is what we have in 2015 when one considers the amount of inherited money among the hoarders represented here. what do they call it in business cycles - creative destruction? perhaps it's time to return to the spirit of '89. but, given how many have jets waiting to fly them to land in australia and new zealand to escape for a while the coming social and environmental consequences of their rapacity, it will be important for some of the more skilled peasants to learn ahead of time how to ground all flights and stop up all other exits if justice is to be served this time around. just sayin'.
The "Great Fear" – Refers to the period of July and August 1789, when peasants sacked the castles of the nobles
and "nobles" is what we have in 2015 when one considers the amount of inherited money among the hoarders represented here. what do they call it in business cycles - creative destruction? perhaps it's time to return to the spirit of '89. but, given how many have jets waiting to fly them to land in australia and new zealand to escape for a while the coming social and environmental consequences of their rapacity, it will be important for some of the more skilled peasants to learn ahead of time how to ground all flights and stop up all other exits if justice is to be served this time around. just sayin'.
22
"the amount of inherited money..."
and, let's face it, the piles of wealth not inherited directly from one's immediate ancestors have in a sense been inherited anyway - from the fabulous success the wealthy have had in destroying tax structures that once reflected the cost to society of this level of confiscation of natural resources and the labor of others.
and, let's face it, the piles of wealth not inherited directly from one's immediate ancestors have in a sense been inherited anyway - from the fabulous success the wealthy have had in destroying tax structures that once reflected the cost to society of this level of confiscation of natural resources and the labor of others.
19
During the rah-rah '90s and early aughts, there was a lot of new building going on in towns surrounding me, places like New Canaan and Greenwich, CT.
Huge McMansions with indoor theaters, wine cellars, basketball courts and the like (common appurtenances compared to Landry's). I remember hearing about one wife who decided her newly built, $200K kitchen just wouldn't do -- no doubt a new trend in faucets had taken her fancy -- and had the whole thing torn out and rebuilt.
For people like her, money -- and particularly thoughtfulness and taste -- are no object.
Huge McMansions with indoor theaters, wine cellars, basketball courts and the like (common appurtenances compared to Landry's). I remember hearing about one wife who decided her newly built, $200K kitchen just wouldn't do -- no doubt a new trend in faucets had taken her fancy -- and had the whole thing torn out and rebuilt.
For people like her, money -- and particularly thoughtfulness and taste -- are no object.
13
Mr. Landry is an artisan of decadence.
12
Reminds me of Wright's comment, that the reason he was a great architect was that there are so few good ones.
19
The caption that states that Mr. Landry's "Tuscan-style villa in Beverly Hills was inspired by the Art Deco era" says it all. These ersatz piles lead me to believe Mr. Landry still works for R. Duell & Associates.
5
Quite interesting: There's nothing original about these structures, no forward thinking or innovation in materials or the idea of using sustainable materials, just large obtuse land forms. No feeling or emotion.
16
It's not his fault if other people have too much money. Hats off to him for his success. What we need is a government that makes his clients pay their fair share of taxes.
91
Rich folks pay more than other people in taxes... they just do... So if the argument is they should pay a higher % of their income as a "fair" share it would be better stated that way. I personally think, let people keep most of the money they earn when alive... but make them give about 90% - 95% of it back (estate tax) when they die... no dynasties, no silver spoons. What better time to pay taxes then after you die and why should one kid get a head start owning millions of dollars?
1
Reading this article, I wonder what magic Mr. Landry could have performed on the 400 square foot 'apartment' I almost rented on the upper east side back when I worked in NYC. I decided it was just a little too small, so settled on a spacious 680 square foot apt in Hoboken. But perhaps with Mr. Landry's touch, I would have reconsidered. Maybe he could have somehow designed a seascape view with endless sky....
2
The most amusing thing is the fact that all these megamansions are framed in wood. Only in the USA do the super-rich live in plywood shacks!
13
You realize California is an earthquake zone. Wood is flexible enough to withstand the shock, masonry, not so much
7
The other half, really? I realize this is an old figure of speech but in contemporary terms , it's how the 1% live.
20
Try 0.1%. The bottom of the 1% can't afford this guy.
4
"How the Other Half Builds"? Half of what? Half of a tenth of a hundredth of a thousandth of the earth's population? (That's 2000 jobs for Mr. Landry)
Great expense and luxury in residential architecture does result in beautiful spaces and artistic use of exquisite materials. Still, it it possible to be happy in these places? Even the most self-important people must have at least some small nagging voice of conscience about inequality and the moral hazard of self-indulgent conspicuous consumption.
Great expense and luxury in residential architecture does result in beautiful spaces and artistic use of exquisite materials. Still, it it possible to be happy in these places? Even the most self-important people must have at least some small nagging voice of conscience about inequality and the moral hazard of self-indulgent conspicuous consumption.
38
No, I don't think they have inner voices.
26
Whoa, I can see the future. In 15 years nearly all of these homes will be torn down as their land value exceeds their (what will be) very dated Architectural designs.
Ignoring for a minute the morality of it all, these projects all look rushed. I saw no thoughtful design.
Ignoring for a minute the morality of it all, these projects all look rushed. I saw no thoughtful design.
23
Catering to the whims of the super rich, like Tom Brady with need of a castle, makes you think of Landry as an enabler of all the inequality of our nation. Calling it 'servicing the prosperous', when in reality it is servicing evil. I know, Landry will tell you someone must do it. Landry is the poster boy for taxing the 'prosperous' into the grave.
20
Magnificent architecture with prices to match. It always befuddled me why the rich build homes that look like hotels? Honestly, how much space do you honestly need?
39
"We love those repeat clients..." To what end? This is not envy, it is disgust at gross excess.
20
Dump on the guy all you want. He is someone who worked hard and saw opportunities. I love his work. Oh and by the way, his efforts employ lots and lots of 99 percenters.
22
Building a Ferrari with an unlimited budget actually isn't as challenging as designing and building a mass market car that exudes state-of-the-art engineering, high style and real value.
22
These structures represent obscene waste of the earth's resources. Destructive development like this is killing the planet.
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I think what can be learned from this article is:
Just because you have money, doesn't mean you have taste.
Just because you have money, doesn't mean you have taste.
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What intrigues me most about Mr. Landry's skills is is what would a 1500-2000 sq. ft. home for the rest of us look like? Or better yet, if he designed houses for the working classes, (read affordable), look like? I wonder if this task would be more difficult than the giga-mansions.
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Take Highclere Castle set on 5,000 acres. That ugly monstrosity is set back far enough from the road so only those on the estate are forced to see it. Now it is considered a cultural treasure. Go figure. I say that if your trophy third wife wants it then just do it! Strive to be happy.
3
Quite a few of the "stately homes" in the UK, which Americans love to ogle, are in fact quite ugly - oversized and overbearing and recklessly eclectic in their pastiche of different architectural traditions. Most are wall-to-wall with costly "loot," taken from the former colonies or poorer European countries when England ruled the world. Mr. Landry's houses are their modern-day equivalent, when American capitalism rules the world. Nothing new here.
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Richard is clearly an architect of considerable talents who has focused his energy on making his clients happy while providing them with tastefully done buildings that pay homage to past styles and traditions. He may be faulted by architecture critics for not forging a memorable avant-garde style, but he is surely loved by his patrons and his efforts are sincere. If paired with a client of exceptional restraint and taste, I would bet that the resultant building would mirror those values. His sense of fun and enthusiasm paired with ambitious clients leads to these large houses, but poorly done they are not. Some of his best work is surely to come, but he has nothing to be ashamed of from these examples (even if there are details not to everyone's taste).
27
When I read the article and reread it, looking for his architectural training, I found almost nothing about the actual school and what learning and ideas he picked up there. How he got where he is, as a major arriviste is interesting and only touched upon in the article. Such ugly houses, I guess those he panders to are completely without knowledge of non-ugly buildings. That's the nouveau riche for you, of whom Trump is a prime example along with this fellow.
13
Would be nice if Mr. Landy could channel some of his obvious love for architectural challenge to design (and perhaps invest in the promotion and building of?) more conservative, safe, affordable housing to replace the blight in the ghettos of many of our large cities.
21
How the other half builds - ha. It is really just the top 10%. Half of the photos are certainly not my style, but I do give the guy credit because he is "happy" and obviously loves his job. If only half of us could say the same...
1
Another cogent argument for confiscatory taxes on the top 10%. This is Newport redux, and nothing good came from that gilded age.
15
Mr. Landry might very well be the Frank Lloyd Wright of our time. Mr. Landry, please let us know when one of your clients can no longer pay the property taxes, and surrenders the property to the city to be turned into a tourist attraction - so we all can pay a modest visitors' fee and take a tour for a few hours.
Frank Lloyd Wright had some ground-breaking ideas and design principles. He was also revolutionary in his use of new materials, such as reinforced concrete. Some of Frank Lloyd Wright's work was also astounding because of the challenges he overcame, such as with the low-budget Unity Temple in Oak Park.
If Richard Landry has a design philosophy, it did not come through in this article. He seems equally at ease with a variety of faux styles but not much of an innovator in any of them. Do you really think architects will study Landry's work as they do Frank Lloyd Wright's?
If Richard Landry has a design philosophy, it did not come through in this article. He seems equally at ease with a variety of faux styles but not much of an innovator in any of them. Do you really think architects will study Landry's work as they do Frank Lloyd Wright's?
20
Ponderer from Mexico City, Thanks for your reply. You can tell my understanding of science and art of architecture is dismal. I would still want to visit one of his mega-mansions for a small entrance fee anyway.
Hope not.
Whenever the NYT wants to do an article about dumbed down tastelessness, they head straight for LA. Not the city proper, mind you, with its many diverse neighborhoods and resurgent downtown. No, its always the hills of Beverly or the shores of Malibu where enviably skinny white folks throw money around in pointless ways.
I live in LA and I'm starting to resent your attitude, New York! If we were really that vacuous a place, Donald Trump would move here.
I live in LA and I'm starting to resent your attitude, New York! If we were really that vacuous a place, Donald Trump would move here.
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Except that The Donald would stick it to you like a real New Yorker, whereas Angelenos just smile, then talk behind your back.
2
Every day I drive through Los Angeles I see vulgar excess and eyesores built by the likes Mr. Landry. Now I know who to curse by name for this contribution to this particular visual blight in LA. The worst examples are the houses that use up every square inch of their property and hover menacingly next to their neighbors, with no thought for their neighbors or neighborhoods.
Thanks for nothing, Mr. Landry. I wish you would "retire and be fine for the rest of your life". But even then the rest of us will still have to live with your hideous facades. Oh, and that wine analogy, some wines don't age well, just like your houses.
Thanks for nothing, Mr. Landry. I wish you would "retire and be fine for the rest of your life". But even then the rest of us will still have to live with your hideous facades. Oh, and that wine analogy, some wines don't age well, just like your houses.
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Gauche on steroids for the arriviste on acid.
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Where are Paul Williams and Wallace Frost when you need them?
1
Although Mr. Landry seems like a competent architect, the single word that describes many of his houses is
"FAKE."
"FAKE."
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Many successful architects have followed this formula for success. Pander to the mega rich, flatter their sense of entitlement and voila your have a mismatch of bad taste and bad architecture. The Gilbert brothers in NYC one hundred years ago flattered FW Woolworth and look what happened. True, the Woolworth Building has become an icon mostly due to its size and technology which was ahead of it's time. Look at Winfield Hall on Long Island and hundreds of other big houses built there and you will see an example of what this article alludes to. Mega mansions galore built to impress, but not last. The architect is not an artist but a set designer who strokes the ego of the client. Frank Loyd Wright/organic architecture forget it. It's all about the money!
20
Old european chateaux did not sit on 2 acres (or less). The formula was about 100 sq ft per acre.
32
Sounds like the architect is working with some people, as the article says, who have no privacy in the actual world, so I guess a 40,000 sq foot world really is pretty small for a world. Didn't Michael Jackson have a zoo? Some of these look like people are essentially living in empty shopping malls or observatories. Whatever floats your boat but the little Phillip Johnson glass house in today's Times video looks like a little jewel.
7
These colossal structures are an example of a culture that has lost all sense of proportion and good taste!
They are a vulgar and ostentatious display of wealth that has been brought about by the endemic greed that has gripped the US in the 21st century!
Having has become more important than being!
They are a vulgar and ostentatious display of wealth that has been brought about by the endemic greed that has gripped the US in the 21st century!
Having has become more important than being!
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Society is changing. There will be some folks frightened by the changes they see and perhaps can't understand but the changes are coming. As we grow enough to endanger the world and indeed the very existance of our own species these changes were predictable by all who were observant. Soon we will all be just one gigantic village. Therefore it is a wise person who can take their talent and training and use them to serve the upper echelons of society and continue to have an interest in the lower stratus as well.
We recently bought a house. It's intended to be our retirement property. We looked a some very nice houses before choosing this one. I discovered something about myself
during that time, I'm not comfortable in a very large space that is an open display of wealth and neither is my husband although both of us appreciated the design and larger scale. When we decided to have our landscaped planned rather than do it ourselves we searched for a landscape architect who was French, would speak English, understood our needs and wants, was verstile and extremely talented while also being able to accomidate a blending of French, Texan, and Cape Cod. We hired Philippe Dubrueil and consider it one of the best decisions we ever made even though the hardscape hasn't begun just yet. I wouldn't hesitate to hire Mr. Landry for a 2nd much smaller home if we build one. I would trust him, as I do Philippe, to interpret our ideas with our needs to make a memorable home.
We recently bought a house. It's intended to be our retirement property. We looked a some very nice houses before choosing this one. I discovered something about myself
during that time, I'm not comfortable in a very large space that is an open display of wealth and neither is my husband although both of us appreciated the design and larger scale. When we decided to have our landscaped planned rather than do it ourselves we searched for a landscape architect who was French, would speak English, understood our needs and wants, was verstile and extremely talented while also being able to accomidate a blending of French, Texan, and Cape Cod. We hired Philippe Dubrueil and consider it one of the best decisions we ever made even though the hardscape hasn't begun just yet. I wouldn't hesitate to hire Mr. Landry for a 2nd much smaller home if we build one. I would trust him, as I do Philippe, to interpret our ideas with our needs to make a memorable home.
3
So you don't want your mansion to be ostentatious you just want your garden to be?
Okay...
Okay...
4
This sounds like it is from the Onion. ha ha. Bravo Phillipe!
15
A mix of French, Cape Cod, and Texan must be quite an awful sight. Or maybe I'm missing the obvious fact that this must be satire. Or if it's not, it's clearly written by someone utterly clueless about how she comes across.
12
I am a sociologist (in training) at University. Mr. Kurutz, if you were not being semi-facetious as I suspect you were in suggesting his excesses are a matter to be discussed solely formally by sociologists I think you missed the point that this man missed the point to life.
4
This story is a great example of what someone needs to do to be successful quickly and easily in any field, not just architecture: give people what they want. This is not very hard to do. And it is because of this lack of character in our society that we are witnessing a decline in quality and taste everywhere, in education, art, government...
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I agree and disagree. The world is always changing. The more people in and the faster it changes. Even with all these people in the world, everyone of us is still different from the others regardless of what the outside viewer observes. This is not a lack of character but a diverse showing of individuals expressing themselves. Character is made up many things but houses are not one of those things. To assume one person lacks character you must also be assuming that the person has never formed a personal conviction, has no empathy nor enimity, never developed a personal integrity which will guide them in their day to day and lifelong decisions. No Character means a blank sheet of paper never viewed, touched, or heard because once any or all of those actions occur the paper begins to develop a character. Humans have character even if it is not the characteristics you have developed or value.
11
"Give ^rich people what they want." Fixed that for you.
16
Some things really don't change, though. Most people with extremely large amounts of money have always wanted everyone else to know about it, regardless of the era. At the risk of playing armchair analyst, this seems to indicate an insecurity that many homeowners believe can be allayed by building these monuments to themselves. Rare is the woman or man with both the wealth and the aesthetics required to build a significant, beautiful or groundbreaking house.
Viewing online images of Richard Meier's Douglas House, or a visit to the Edsel and Eleanor Ford House in Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan, will prove the point.
Viewing online images of Richard Meier's Douglas House, or a visit to the Edsel and Eleanor Ford House in Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan, will prove the point.
7