Houses are so intangible, I’ve often pointed out that I feel no sense of ownership, even after an attempt to purchase one.
But “Zillow wants to put you in one” is the understatement of the century.
When we describe houses, we’re not just talking about two feet of wood or a concrete foundation, we’re talking about the psychological aspects of it, too. A home requires something powerful to get your attention, a space on the interior and exterior that will compel you to investigate more, you don’t have to be an explorer, you just have to get moving. It’s like playing a video game. Now it’s Zillow’s turn to ensure you are rewarded for your trial and error.
This week, experts Pritzker School of Architecture Dean Melissa Riccio and campus architect Hirokazu Hamada will speak about “Zillow: The Architecture and Chemistry of Space.” And if you need a little more proof of our evolving attitude about homes, consider the Washington Post’s exhaustive house tour series:
Richey Piiparinen and Evan F. Moore, adjunct architectural students at New York University, spout their opinion (and a lot of real estate chest-thumping) in first-person journal Home & Garden.
This illustrated tour of houses offers an easy point of entry for those interested in culture (and who will be buying a house shortly) — but it’s out of the price range of most Washingtonians.
Priced closer to their imaginations, Zach Siegler and Nathan Croteau, architecture and design students at Columbia University, help us experience the joys of architecture.
This tour turns our attention from emotions to sentimentality, one brick at a time.
Developer Sam Lessin is all about energy-efficient ways to live well.
Picking the perfect row house to appreciate from a distance is difficult, especially when there are so many different styles and prices. So perhaps it isn’t surprising that a student from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago navigates the neighborhood. But it’s surprising — particularly if you already know a street well.
For the neighborhoods most left behind when change happens, we turn to HomeKit writer and family lawyer Melissa Frey. She launched a tour so all can appreciate the resilience of the housing stock in neighborhoods to be adopted.
In-between tours, PBRDC editor Ann Rubenstein gives us a glimpse of one of Washington’s staple neighborhoods.