Why do developers not build in historical styles?

AFF8879

I'll admit my perspective is going to be biased from a London perspective, but I'm sure this can apply to other cities and regions all across the U.K.

Around the world, Britain is renowned for its architecture. Cities like Oxford and Cambridge dominate the traditional postcard images in tourist shops and here in London, a flat in a converted Georgian townhouse would command a huge premium over a "modern" purpose built flat in the same area of exactly the same proportions.

From a developer perspective, surely this premium would outweigh any additional costs especially given technological advances / abilities to substitute cheaper materials that still give the same look/effect.

From a social perspective, such grand buildings are pleasing to the eye and could definitely improve the feel of an area.

I just think it would be lovely to be surrounded by such elegant buildings as opposed to the glass and steel magnolia boxes / towers that are popping up everywhere :T

DaftyDuck

Poundbury!

It is... simply ghastly!

LHW99

Much historic architecture that we have left is beautiful, because the stuff that was awful in its time has fallen down, been pulled down, burnt down or otherwise been worn away (along with some of the good stuff unfortunately).

IMO while there are a lot of very horrible buildings that have been put up around the country since the 1960's there are also some that inspire a degree of affection (the Gherkin) and that are inspiring in their own way.

200 or 300 years hence, the worst of the modern will have been removed (like the old Bullring in Birmingham) and people then will hopefully look on what's left and wonder why their modern architects don't build in the same style.

boliston

You only have to look at a typical new housing estate to see that they are trying to build houses in a mock period style with Georgian style doorways and windows.

I think the whole idea is very tacky and cheap looking but that is what people seem to want so that is what they build.

GreatApe

Building regulations mean solid built homes are not possible anymore

Doozergirl

Greatape - what are you talking about? You can build in a myriad of ways to building regs. "Solid" houses too.

Another good question is why we don't build in modern super-efficient styles.

The simple answer to the OP and any other dtyle that involved cost is that developers build as they build because it is cheap. They scrape their developments through regs. For some reason, people seem to value it.

zagubov

Seems to me we're all so desperate to be housed closed to amenities that we'll accept any old rubbish as a house. Here in London, we buy rabbit-hutches with utility/storage rooms we call garages but they'd struggle to hold a post-war bubble-car.

Billy Connolly used to rave about tenements as being vertical villages where the residents lived in solid large one-level flats that you couldn't extend (but didn't need to either, as you could build them big enough in the first place).

If we scrapped leasehold we could have that here.

Cakeguts

By traditional styles would you include Tudorbethan? The 20s Tudorbethan houses are now pushing 100 years old now does that make Tudorbethan a tradtional style?

Carmk2008

Developers don't build traditional or historical styles due cost and we the consumer encourage it by snapping up small overpriced shoeboxes.

boliston

Cakeguts wrote: »

By traditional styles would you include Tudorbethan? The 20s Tudorbethan houses are now pushing 100 years old now does that make Tudorbethan a tradtional style?

There is an estate not far from where I live that has this sort of style but I think it just looks silly and I would be embarrassed owning something like this
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.0292426,-3.1100032,3a,75y,191.78h,87.86t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sT1FW4Hq8dfahMhpVOZd5nA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1

ukcarper

I was bought up in a 2 bed 19th century cottage, even though it didn't have a bathroom or inside toilet the rooms were small, it was not very attractive, I would much rather live in a modern 2 bed.