Monday, November 9, 2009
Visual Art Dwell Magazine Has Caught Up With Our Geniuses
Posted by Jen Graves on Mon, Nov 9, 2009 at 12:15 PM
Stranger Geniuses travel far and wide. Meet this year's amazingheads at the Moore Friday. Details:
The Stranger's Genius Awards
November 13, 2009
The Moore TheatreThe 2009 Stranger Genius Awards issue, with profiles of this year's winners, hits streets November 12th. This year's geniuses are Jeffry Mitchell (art), Zia Mohajerjasbi (film), Stacey Levine (literature), The Cody Rivers Show (theater), and Pacific Northwest Ballet (organization).
Doors Open 9 PM
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2
70k to build and 30k to buy the lot. Some how I think part of the financial picture is not complete. A 1350 sq ft house in Seattle for 100K? I can only conclude the problem with affordable housing is people who want it don't have the smarts to build it. Is there more to this financial story we're not being told?
3
@2: read the article. They did almost all the construction labor themselves, and salvaged much of the materials.
That's not a recipe for affordable housing for the masses. There's not very many vacant city lots, for one thing, and there are specialized skills that few people have. You also need to have $70 grand on hand; banks aren't going to lend you it. And it would be pretty hard for amateurs to build, say, an apartment house themselves.
The house is cool, but in terms of practical urbanism it's a rich person's hobby house.
That's not a recipe for affordable housing for the masses. There's not very many vacant city lots, for one thing, and there are specialized skills that few people have. You also need to have $70 grand on hand; banks aren't going to lend you it. And it would be pretty hard for amateurs to build, say, an apartment house themselves.
The house is cool, but in terms of practical urbanism it's a rich person's hobby house.
4
It's a great house, but it says the article was published in 2004 (in the left column). It's just newly online, but not new to Dwell.
5
Yes it is indeed a rich person's hobby house. I did read the article. Hence my questions. I know how to use a hammer. Salvaged materials are not always cheaper than new because items have to be handled multiple times. There are plenty of vacant lots in Seattle still. I walk past several in my little hood everyday to catch the bus. None are priced at 30K. Most are 60K. I still think we're not being told the whole story. A house in Seattle for $100K seems affordable regardless of the fact they did 99% of the work themselves.
6
I don't think it's quite fair to call Daniel and Annie's place a "rich person's hobby house," or to pose it as an affordable housing solution. They built the house themselves because that was the only way they could afford to have a house--not as a hobby, and as a far from rich couple. They not only needed to use all their building skills and develop new ones, they had to hoist a steel beam some 25(?) feet into the air without a crane, just scaffolding and ingenious fulcrum placement. They are amazing.
7
@6: Thank you for saying it. Sometimes I get exhausted. A rich person's hobby house???????? Hello?????
8
YA/HELLLOOOO?????? CAN U HEAR ME GAWD, IT'S ME ARTISTIC EXPRESSION. I GET KONFUSED. IZ I BIZ? IZ I POESIS? ASK KING KARLES MUDDY! HE'LL KNOW.
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