Analyzing Single Family Homes in Miami

Posted on: June 9th, 2010 | 25 Comments

This is Day 141 of the Slow Home Project and we need you to join us in our quest to evaluate the design quality of houses in nine North American cities in nine months. This week we are reviewing the results of our work in Miami.

Today is our last day of analysis of the data we have collected from the Miami area. The final housing type we need to have a closer look at is single family houses, and keeping with the trend so far, we can conclude that the single family houses in Miami also scored the lowest on the Slow Home Test out of the four cities we have analyzed thus far – the others being Dallas, Denver and Toronto.

Overall, houses in Miami have the most significant design flaws out of the four cities we have complied the data on thus far. In Miami only 11% of single family house floor plans scored above the minimum design threshold of 13 out of 20 points on the Slow Home Test. This means that 89% of single family home have such significant design flaws that we would not recommend that them to be considered for purchase – or at least with extreme caution. This places Miami far below Toronto (20%), Dallas (20%) and Denver (39%) in the single family home category. Not a surprise given the data we have already looked at for apartment/lofts and townhouses which have also scored poorly.

Don’t forget that you have until 4pm MDT today to submit your entry for the “Miami Design Challenge” to john@slowhomestudio.com to qualify for a book prize which will be announced on Friday!

Make sure to join us tomorrow where we have a very special segment that I know you all will enjoy!

  • autobrad

    Wow! This is getting really interesting. The fact that Miami housing is so poor seems to be inline with the rest of the poor design approach, but for Toronto to be so high on Condos/townhomes and be so poor on single family is really interesting. Perhaps the demand for condos/townhomes is from professionals as the homes are most often in the downtown/business core. While single family are most often in the ‘burbs’where the buyer is most often family and, perhaps has less income (for a home), therefore the design is all about getting families four walls and a roof. Compared with the downtown condo/townhome purchased by single or ‘dink’ professional couples who demand design over pure pragmatic function? In short: Professionals want form and function while families are more about function.

  • Kadoman

    Seeing the results all together, it seems my previous claim is unfounded. In the town home category, it does indeed appear that northern and southern homes have some sort of relation. However, the apartment/loft category is less so, and the single family category is not at all similar. I guess it was coincidence.

    Though, I still have to wonder how climate affects the design process, where design doesn’t seem to happen. I still think it may be true that in colder climates, things like entry ways are maybe more “handy” they may become a sought after design feature, and thus may be included in slap together homes more often than in more temperate climates.

  • autobrad

    I am not sure about climate as an influence. Yes, I agree there seems to be a connection but I wonder if it is more of a cultural thing based on demographic demand. I would like to see LA, New Orleans, San Diego and other warm cities to see how climate impacts design.

  • Terri

    I’m not sure I buy the “climate” argument either. Afterall, a good entry accounts for only one point on the Slow Home Test.

    In Toronto, we found that the single family homes were not in good locations, had little, if any, environmental features, and they also had a lot of redundant and oversized space (formal living room and family room and sometimes another games room; or huge master bathrooms and underfunctioning main bathrooms; or monster garages which affected the interiors). It looked like these homes were using the same plans from the 1980s, when monster houses first became common (and land values became too high).

    I think the biggest problem is the mindset of those who want to see a lot of bang for the buck. They’re not as impressed with a good location as they are with image. So many units advertise the must-have luxuries, such as granite countertops or stainless steel appliances.

    Although a bad location and lack of environmental features can automatically put a home at the moderately slow point (16), the addition of other bad design elements soons “adds up” (or don’t, in the case of the Slow Home Test), and the home is found to be moderately fast. I don’t find it surprising at all. We’ve got a long way to go to get the Slow Home philosophy more mainstream.

  • JPHH

    I agree that home buyers are searching for the look of the house and not the function. This pushes developers to build houses that look good but do not function like a slow home would. Also to keep price down the builders are dropping the environmental performance which in the long run will probably end up costing the home owner more. Once these points are gone it is hard to stay out of the moderately fast and fast categories.

  • Andrew

    Having about one third of single family homes in Miami classified as ‘Fast’ is shocking and unfortunate. I think when it gets this bad, not only are the builders, developers and designers at fault but when you reach this point I think the home owners are partially to blame for accepting and buying such poorly made homes. I would bet the biggest problem is that the average new home buyer is just not aware that he/she could have something much better. When 1/3 of the homes out there are fast, it might be difficult to realize that homes can be better designed that what’s currently on the market. Homebuyers and the city of Miami could benefit greatly if they knew just how poorly designed their homes are.

  • Murray

    It has been interesting to follow the analysis over the past few days. I think that there are so many unknowns in the equation we are trying to solve that it is difficult to pinpoint anything really accurately about the poor showing in Miami. I think people have made very good points, and many a probably nearer the mark than not. We can speculate and make reasoned arguments but who really knows.

    What we do know is that the designs are poor based on SlowHome criteria, so that means the developers/architects are coming at their designs from a different set of priorities. Also, these “fast” houses are being purchased, so the consumers are also making their decisions based on a similar set of priorities.

    This points to a level of education and understanding both on the part of the manufacturer and the consumer – of course this is dependent on them believing “SlowHome” is a good thing – they may not adhere to John’s and Matthew’s view of domestic architecture. Though, environmental responsibility and sustainability should be something they should want to strive towards regardless, but we know this was sadly lacking in Miami especially.

    Why is house design so bad (it has been consistently so over the four cities)? Based on my attempt(s) at the Miami Design Challenge, I think it is simply that there is so much more square footage to make a hash of.

    An apt/loft is usually small and limits choice., so there is less to mess up. But, like haiku, it needs to be almost perfect to be meaningful, otherwise it can go terribly wrong.

    A townhouse, could be compared to a sonnet; lots of metric rules and rhyming schemes to make it work properly. A bit more to play with, but the idiosyncrasies of a narrow home and an intrusive garage pose their own challenges.

    So the house is the epic narrative. You need to be really skilled to stay focused and on track to keep the rhythm flowing so that by the time you reach the end you understand the entire story without getting bogged down by the details.

    So, there are rules to be followed in good design as there are in good poetry, regardless of its form. However, it is one understands the rules and can play with them creatively then a prosaic house can become a lyrical home.

    It’s about education, and that is what this site is all about.

  • Hawerchuk#10

    what is perplexing about these dense numbers is how Toronto can be so strong in one specific area and below mediocre in another. the question has to be asked how the designing of the loft/apartment area can’t translate over into the single family home design in all four cities, but more specifically, the Toronto market.

  • Mid America Mom

    Thanks to our Facebook community for letting us know of the article over at ShelterPop here:
    http://www.shelterpop.com/2010/06/09/the-slow-home-movement/

    Mid America Mom

  • Mid America Mom

    I did not participate in Miami and so I have no feel for it. Thank you Terri for bringing up some from the Toronto experience. I wonder what some saw as themes in the DESIGN side of the test in Miami. Murray you stated too much space.

    Anyone see a design theme that caused problems in Miami single family?

    Toronto single family had three issues in regards to design that are in the slow home Toronto report and one of them was an inefficient stair (oversized or angles).

    Mid America Mom

  • PeterB

    I agree with what Andrew has said earlier about homeowners not really knowing their houses are designed poorly but i dont think they should be blamed for buying these homes if the prices are soo low and its in a suburb they desire.

    Reversely i think it would be interesting if we were to send these analysis’ into each respective city council and i wonder what their response would be to the staggering statistics. the problem may just be that they are just building homes too fast and not really thinking about what the people who are going to live in it will feel about their design. Its as if they already got the overhead to build the project and they need to finish it fast enough to get onto the next build without putting in all the time and attention needed to make a good, slow home.

  • Mid America Mom
  • Allie G

    From all the poor ratings right across the board in every type of home in Miami I think I’ve pretty much come to the conclusion that it’s a great vacations spot, but not so great to live there. I’m sure environmental factors really do influence the ratings, but for the scores to be so low, there has to be other factors which Miami is missing. The entrance is an obvious one, but still – they are just abismal scores.

  • Dan M

    I’m agreeing with the general consensus on the issues here, perhaps cultural preferences and desire to look good, are playing more to design than they should. It is likely also that those who are buying these homes only see the same thing in every home so it becomes expected and no one questions it like we are, leaving developers to build the same thing over and over again.
    Perhaps putting the word out there and showing people what is wrong, like this aim of slow home is, will eventually filter down as the project gets more media.

  • Bell604

    I agree with Allie G, in that Miami is more a vacation area then a place for living and raising children. Not that it doesn’t happen, and I am sure there are plenty of people who would disagree. However, the design of the area seems to align with this idea.
    I find it interesting that so many people brought up the fact that they believe these homes are designed for aesthetics rather then function. Perhaps they are speaking of the housing stock as a whole. But from what I have seen, the single detached houses are nothing special appearance wise. I would rather believe that since so much of the housing within the Miami area is apartment style, that the demand for properly designed single detached homes is lacking. Which in turn makes it less profitable for developers to design, making it less attractive as a whole to the Miami housing industry.

  • Hilda

    Very interesting results, but not surprising. I thought it would be bad, but not this bad! Agreeing with the general consensus, especially Allie G’s POV, that Miami is a great place to party, but not the dream place to live.
    There was one POV that consider the problem with Miami is because of the lack of demand for better residential design. Isn’t just amazing how people pretty much never think outside the box? I really look forward when the slow home movement gains more publicity. Then maybe all the renovation grants the government been giving out, can actually be used to produce good results!
    Cheers!

  • Mid America Mom

    Thank you Allie G. Comment on poor entries.

    Mid America Mom

  • bbhorner

    These slow home results are quite fascinating and are getting me to think about much more then just the design quality of the homes. For instance the drop in slow homes in Toronto. Why? Is the real estate market such that apartments and townhouses are in more demand so they are better designed? and what about the growth of these cities. Do cities that have high projected population growths also have poor designed homes because they are more concerned with building then actual design. I hope this makes sense and isn’t a mad ramble. See all the results from different cities just created so many questions as to why these cities differing in slow designed homes.

  • SangeetaG

    I agree with many here on the poor design choices made by the consumers as well as the developers in Miami. I’m just not sure anymore on what basis do the buyers base their decisions on purchasing the homes. More than 50% of the homes have over sized features, those that are not incorporated efficiency into the design, practically no entry, hardly any storage and several awkward elements. I am interested to know what the perspectives of Miami residents are on their home designs. That might tell us a lot about their design thinking and why they live in homes that are fast. Sadly, their design thinking really reflects through these numbers. So far Miami is the worst of the lot, and I’m wondering if it could get any worse. This was my first time analyzing homes on this site, I’m hoping to come across better designed slow homes in the next city housing designs we tear apart.

  • Athena

    I’m not suprised with the steep decline for single family housing. The homes had wasted space with oversized features that served purely for aesthetic appeal. It’s too bad a mass market such as Miami has so many slow / mod. slow homes that are not well functioning and bad for the environment. Perhaps the city should implement some laws for future developments? I think so.

  • MarisaM

    I agree with a lot of the comments that Miami is concerned more so about their image and keeping up with the Jones. This mentality has negatively affected their house design. I was not there for the LA look over but it would be interesting to compare the East and West coast mentalities to design, and see if social image influences it at all.

    Also I would like to look at Las Vegas, there is place with sprawl of single family houses. You receive the tourist view of the city when you go but it would be nice to see a more realistic, local view.

  • autobrad

    I would be interested in seeing how Vancouver stacks up against Miami as they both have a similar mix of permanent residents and people who move there for the ‘lifestyle’

  • autobrad

    Marissa

    I think you are onto something with the east/west difference. There are so many ways that the prevailing attitudes to culture are different on the two coasts.

  • Neogi

    Im really surprised that Miami didn’t live up to anyones expectations. i think the city should be recognized for much more than its golden sunsets and warm weather. The city should really consider a wake-up call and demand more from developers and home builders. Building a house shouldn’t just be about profits should be about creating a lifestyle for the residents. They should cater to a higher design standard, similar to how there are building codes that builders have to abide by, there should be institutions set up to inspect the design quality of a house before building. Its just shocking that how the people have allowed this to go for for as long as it has. I am also interested to see how vancouver compares to miami,it would be nice to see if developers in Canada build with a greater commitment to the designs or just for a fast profit.

  • DJS

    when 90% of single family homes are fast – moderately fast its no longer just a problem of not utilizing location or siting. This has now become a serious problem because in order to be fast or moderately fast there has to be many design flaws. Having several flaws like bad outdoor living, entry, kitchen, and indoor living all in one house makes it an unliveable place.