Why All New Apartment Buildings Look Identical - Cheddar Explains

[Music] they're popping up all over the country and they all look exactly the same this generic aesthetic isn't necessarily bad but if i had to choose a picture to sit next to the definition of meh in the architecture dictionary i definitely choose this these bland mixed used but often residential buildings are the result of a popular construction technique sweeping the nation a technique that relies on a particular legal loophole in the late 1980s the american housing market was pretty dysfunctional and the lack of affordable housing was a huge issue the biggest constraint in the u.s housing market at the time was space but there was actually plenty of physical space developers just weren't allowed to use it that's because many cities zoned their land with an overwhelming preference for detached single-family homes for example in seattle almost three-quarters of residential land is zoned for single-family homes only small strips in downtowns and densely populated areas were zoned for large multi-story towers growing housing demand brought on by demographic shifts job growth patterns and a renewed desire for urban living was making this problem seriously pressing and the dual pressure of code constraints and growing demand created another problem cost so with that in mind let's head to hawaii la architect tim smith was on vacation his company tagawa smith martin inc was working on a project for the city of los angeles on a possible 100 unit affordable housing high-rise in little tokyo that had been going nowhere it was a thorn in his side smith said that they could never even get to the stage of penciling it out so he was taking a well-deserved break in hawaii his slightly questionable choice of beach reading was the latest la building code that had been released the month before he noticed that it had changed the classification of fire retardant treated wood to non-combustible this was a big change previously building codes stated that wood framed buildings could only be two stories but a building constructed with non-combustible wood on the other hand was now allowed to reach five stories if it had a sprinkler system before that only steel beams and cement pillars were viable framing options which are expensive tim smith in a stroke of genius took it a step further he realized that if he first laid a concrete podium floor he could then construct five stories of wood framed building above this allowed buildings to be taller wider and cheaper and only 60 percent the cost of masonry framing and so in 1996 the first building constructed using this new method opened its doors casa hua in los angeles soon this type of building became incredibly popular builders on the west coast could now get to near high rise densities at the coveted wood frame price point but architects on the east coast were working in denser cities with more building codes after adjustments to federal building codes in 2000 this style of construction began to spread across the country and to the east coast they became known as five over ones or one plus fives not because it was five wooden stories and one concrete story but because the wood framed construction was a type five in international building codes and the retail and commercial space in the concrete podium was a type 1 but the ibc still had some things to say codes mandated a modulated facade to avoid repetition and having it look like this cheap flat windows were easy to install and cheap face options like hardy panels which run roughly 16 dollars per square foot were necessary to cut costs after all the next upgrade metal siding costs from 25 to 50 dollars a square foot potentially more than triple the cost codes also mandated that five over ones have a certain percentage of the building be parking depending on the district where the minimum percentage is high like texas the best solution can be wrapping the building around a parking garage a style known as the texas donut when they're lower the ground floor podium suffices like the la dingbat a four-story texas donut can get 50 or 60 apartments onto an acre of land while a west coast version with a two-story podium which became legal in the late 2000s can get almost 200. the building was gaining in popularity among architects through the early 2000s but really took off after the 2008 recession demand for cheap housing was higher than ever before it sparked a flame that just kept growing in 2017 187 000 new housing units were completed in buildings of 50 units or more in the us the most since the census bureau started keeping track in 1972 it's a result of the combination of increases in high-res skyscrapers and the adoption of the five over one method even though they aren't that cute it seems like they filled the need and helped the u.s housing market bounce back by providing affordable housing what could be wrong with that unfortunately a lot wood has a lot of benefits obviously cheap easy to use but it also has some serious downsides wood expands and contracts when weather and moisture fluctuate causing the types of rigid materials used on building surfaces to pull apart at their seams leaving cracks that rain can penetrate obviously this causes water damage mold mildew and lots and lots of repairs especially in areas with temperature fluctuations and a lot of rain only a few materials can survive that kind of strain coincidentally the number one choice is hardy panels so we're back on the boring side of things because everything comes in pairs the other big problem with five over ones is with fire they are viewed as a very high fire risk because in 2017 there were 13 fires that resulted in damages over 20 million dollars six of those were five over ones there have been attempts to ban these buildings in the atlanta suburbs but they were turned over by georgia legislature so while wood is cheaper it definitely has its downsides and because of the necessity of wood to reduce price the buildings have to have the same exteriors to solve problems that wood causes and their efficiency and cost keeps them cropping up all over the u.s are they an eyesore yeah a lot of people believe that they are but there are benefits to cheap and useful housing in such a tight market as long as they're not dangerous to occupants but now you know it's not a glitch in the matrix it's just a byproduct of the u.s housing market [Music] have you ever seen a five over one and wondered what the heck that was let us know in the comments and make sure you tune in to cheddar originals wednesdays at 8pm

Channel: Cheddar

Views: 323,917

Rating: 4.8650198 out of 5

Keywords: Cheddar, cheddar explains, cheddar explores, explainer, apartment, architecture, urban planning, design, city planning, urban design, development, construction, architects, developers, condo, condominium, zoning, building codes, regulations, five over one, one plus five, 5 over 1, apartment units, housing, housing market, infrastructure, urbanization, housing crisis, density, rent, apartment building, buildings look the same, why this building is everywhere

Id: mrxZqPVFTag

Length: 8min 6sec (486 seconds)

Published: Thu Apr 15 2021

Reddit Comments

[u/TRON0314]

Architect here that worked on some of these types for a BAD design firm.

5/1 construction isn't bad necessarily... But in the hands of developers who don't know better and designers that should, the scale to "make the numbers work" is really a detriment to any sort of good streetscape and city experience imo.

Also what's amazing to me the amount of bad designers that gravitate towards this typology. The "amenities" they throw in there are hilarious. Like a lazy river right next to a freeway but can't be a lazy river because you'd need a lifeguard, so it's a ringed pool kind of.

[u/Everybodyluvsbutter]

I will take even the drabbest 5-1 over a McMansion. The density, mixed use, and often TOD bonuses outweigh low quality external materials and repetitive form.

It’s not like they’re shanties or anything.

[u/Funktapus]

Good video.

Tl;dr: They are wood framed because it's cheap and building codes started allowing it over the last 20 years. But wood can't stand up to weather very well so they all have to use a similar weather-resistant exterior material, e.g., Hardie Panels. Don't buy a condo in one of these things if you live in a wet or cold climate.

[u/SloppyinSeattle]

Seattle is full of these. They’re generally generic and boring, but Seattle at least has some decent architects adding brick facades to them or other more engaging features.

[u/arvy_p]

I'd rather see a bunch of these than 1000 identical houses. Interesting video though.

[u/epic_pig]

Probably the same reason old buildings look identical:

https://ephemeralnewyork.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/sullivanstreethouses2.jpg

[u/zafiroblue05]

This is such a dumbed down video. They call these buildings "high rises" over and over when they're not remotely highrises. They say they're fire risks, when in reality they're only fire risks during construction before the sprinklers were put in; they're not significant fire risks while inhabited. And "legal loophole" is such a biased way to describe changing building code.

[u/thinkB4WeSpeak]

Wood was cheap, currently it's pretty expensive but probably still cheaper than the alternatives.

[u/Indy317GuyBSU]

Amateur Hour at the Apollo.