Architect-Designed House Plans vs "Stock" House Plans
Designed and built by the American architect Frank Gehry, the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao is a popular tourist destination.
You've probably heard that houses that are architect-designed take longer to build than stock houses do. But what if you're one of those who wants an architect-designed house?
These house plans from designers like Frank Gehry are so unique and different, they may be worth the wait.
If you are one of those, are you willing to wait longer and pay more for a house that might be a tourist destination, or even the "house of the future"?
And what about the value of this different kind of house decades from now?
That's what I'd like to look at here.
The Costs and Benefits of Architect-Designed Houses vs "Stock" Houses
Just how do these two kinds of houses compare?
To find out, let's look at houses that were built by Frank Gehry and other famous architects, over about the last 40 years. Specifically, we'll look at some popular designs by Gehry & Associates.
In the early 1970s, Gehry pioneered new ways to use cheap materials, such as chain-link fencing and corrugated metal siding.
Many of these homes were built fairly cheaply, with materials like concrete block, rather than expensive lumber. But they were built very quickly -- sometimes in only a few months.
These designs included several different types of houses: single-family houses and condominiums; a church; an art gallery; and even one small elementary school building. Gehry designed about 13 buildings in all for this particular project.
The average cost for those 13 homes was about $75 per square foot (or $3,000 per sq m), including site work and foundations. That placed the average building cost at a little over $450,000.
This compared to the overall average price for new homes in that area of about $80 per square foot ($3,200 per sq m) -- or about $420,000.
Not a bad deal for an architect-designed home!
The time it took to build designer houses like these was also significantly longer than for "stock" houses built by others in this area. The average time to build these designer homes was about 4 months, compared to just 3 months for others.
There is no doubt that custom-designed houses like these cost more and take a little longer to build than "stock" houses. But they are unique, they are different, and they may be worth the wait!
The value of architect-designed houses:
Since it doesn't seem like this type of house is being built much anymore, there isn't a lot of data available on how well they have held their value over time. However, I found one example that's still on the market -- the Gehry House II in Santa Monica.
This was the first Gehry-designed house ever built in California. It was designed for Frank and Barbara Gehry, and designed by Frank Gehry & Associates.
It was built in 1972 for about $260,000 -- or about $1.85 million (in 2011 dollars). And, it's still listed for sale on the market at a cool $10 million!
The house looks like a small "normal" house from the outside, but it has some other unusual features: 2 ponds that are filled with rainwater; a wading pool; and metal screens that surround a fireplace inside the living room. These features were intended to emphasize its unique architecture.
The house was very well built, too, with concrete walls and a reinforced foundation. There were no modifications made to the house by the current owners (or any prior owner).
It's interesting to look at the standard of living in Santa Monica over the past 40 years. Houses like this not only cost more than normal houses in that area, but they also cost more per square foot than normal houses did over that time period. They also cost more per square foot than average houses cost nationwide -- $1.81 million compared to $1.05 million for the U.S.
In fact, the average house nationwide cost about $164 per square foot ($7,700 per sq m) in 1972. That's only 25% more than this Gehry House II was originally built for. Even in Santa Monica, the average price of houses built over that same time period was only $218 per square foot ($9,500 per sq m) -- which is 52% more than this Gehry House II was originally built for!
While it's true that architect-designed houses cost more to build and take longer to build than "stock" houses, this Gehry House II has definitely held its value very well over time.
What about the Three Curves House by Frank Gehry?
The three curving sides of this project really stand out! Unfortunately, there isn't any information about how many units were actually built. This was a single-family house built in Columbus, Ohio.
This design was a little more expensive than the other two architect-designed homes we've looked at so far. The average price tag on this one was $200 per square foot ($8,000 per sq m), or about $1.1 million.
This home did not use concrete block or corrugated metal siding materials, either. It used very nice oak flooring and a lot of glass. The exterior of the house doesn't show any exposed concrete, either.
This home also had several unusual features -- and no modifications have been made to any part of the house throughout several ownerships over the past 40 years. (It is still for sale right now, too.
Conclusion: Architect-Designed Homes Can't be Beat!
Frank Gehry has done a lot of work with this type of house. He and his firm have designed quite a few houses over the years. But I don't think any architect-designed houses have held their value better than Gehry's did.
The only downside to these architect-designed homes is that they cost a little more to build and take longer to build than "stock" homes do.