Thanks for posting, Ben. I guess I should have been more familiar with MJ Neal’s portfolio, since I haven’t seen this before. I very much like the property, and the interior decoration is very well done. I think the private spaces are less memorable; but the public spaces are just amazing. I would feel very lucky to live in such a distinctive and distinguished home.
David, I’ve spent a lot of time in this house, um, working on stuff. There is certainly a lot of grandeur in some of the spaces but I would spend some careful time in there imagining life. The house has some issues spatially. Having said that, MJ is brilliant and for the right owner the house is surely ‘worth it’.
Enough said, Chuck. 2D pictures can definitely distort perceptions of 3D space, and custom design can definitely be a challenge for contractors to execute. Best solution is feet on the ground. 😉
Besides, in the real world, I have a youngster; and that house doesn’t strike me as 100% impervious to kid-struction.
The place seems better suited to a coastline someplace. It’s pretty grandiose for the decidedly diminutive parcel of land it occupies. You see that a lot in Austin: giant cubist McMansions scrunched in among chain link fenced grad student rentals and 50’s tract homes.
A McMansion’s uninspired, mass produced, and homogeneous architecture is why the “Mc” prefix is so apt.
You could say a lot of things about this house, but not that it is uninspired or mass produced or one of many others just like it.
As I recall, it won multiple design awards (the links on the MJ Neal website are broken so I can’t verify). I think it’s safe to say that McMansions aren’t singled out for their architectural excellence.
Thanks for posting, Ben. I guess I should have been more familiar with MJ Neal’s portfolio, since I haven’t seen this before. I very much like the property, and the interior decoration is very well done. I think the private spaces are less memorable; but the public spaces are just amazing. I would feel very lucky to live in such a distinctive and distinguished home.
David, I’ve spent a lot of time in this house, um, working on stuff. There is certainly a lot of grandeur in some of the spaces but I would spend some careful time in there imagining life. The house has some issues spatially. Having said that, MJ is brilliant and for the right owner the house is surely ‘worth it’.
Enough said, Chuck. 2D pictures can definitely distort perceptions of 3D space, and custom design can definitely be a challenge for contractors to execute. Best solution is feet on the ground. 😉
Besides, in the real world, I have a youngster; and that house doesn’t strike me as 100% impervious to kid-struction.
The concrete ramp/trench in what looks like the main area seems to unnecessarily restrict the use that can be made of that space.
(My first time posting to this site. I lived in Austin for 24 years until 2002. Now I live in silicon valley and rent an Eichler.)
The place seems better suited to a coastline someplace. It’s pretty grandiose for the decidedly diminutive parcel of land it occupies. You see that a lot in Austin: giant cubist McMansions scrunched in among chain link fenced grad student rentals and 50’s tract homes.
A McMansion’s uninspired, mass produced, and homogeneous architecture is why the “Mc” prefix is so apt.
You could say a lot of things about this house, but not that it is uninspired or mass produced or one of many others just like it.
As I recall, it won multiple design awards (the links on the MJ Neal website are broken so I can’t verify). I think it’s safe to say that McMansions aren’t singled out for their architectural excellence.
B-Jentley obviously doesn’t know what a McMansion is? Nor does he understand contemporary living and spatial limitations in a metro area.