McMansions 101: What Makes a McMansion Bad Architecture? 麦豪宅 101：是什么让麦豪宅成为糟糕的建筑？

Sometimes people ask, why is xyz house bad? Asking this question does not imply that the asker has bad taste or no taste whatsoever - it means that they are simply not educated in basic architectural concepts. In this post, I will introduce basic architectural concepts and explain why not all suburban/exurban/residential houses are McMansions, as well as what makes a McMansion especially hideous. 有时人们会问，为什么 xyz 住宅很糟糕？提出这个问题并不意味着提问者品味不好或完全没有品味——这只意味着他们只是不了解基本的建筑概念。在这篇文章中，我将介绍基本建筑概念，并解释为什么并非所有郊区/远郊/住宅区的房屋都是麦豪宅，以及是什么让麦豪宅显得尤其丑陋。

Disclaimer: These same principles do not always apply to Modernist or even canonically Postmodern architecture. These principles are for the classical or traditional architecture most residential homes are modeled after. 免责声明：这些原则并不总是适用于现代主义，甚至经典的后现代主义建筑。这些原则适用于大多数住宅所模仿的古典或传统建筑。

Design Principle #1: Masses & Voids设计原则 #1：体量与虚空

The mass is the largest portion of a building. Individual masses become interesting when they are combined together to form a façade. The arrangement of these shapes to create weight is called massing. As the pieces are combined, they are divided into categories: primary and secondary masses (1). 体量是建筑中最大的部分。个体体量在组合在一起形成立面时会变得有趣。将这些形状排列以形成重量感，称为体量组合。随着各部分组合在一起，它们被分为两类：主体量和次体量（1）。

The primary mass is the largest shape in the building block. The secondary masses are the additional shapes that form the façade of a building. 主体量是建筑体块中最大的形状。次体量是构成建筑立面的附加形状。

Windows, doors, or other openings are called voids. Voids allow creation of negative space that allow for breaks within masses. Placing voids that allow for natural breaks in the mass create balance and rhythm across the building’s elevation. 窗、门或其他开口被称为虚空。虚空可以创造负空间，使体量内部产生中断。布置能够形成体量自然中断的虚空，可以在建筑立面上创造平衡和节奏。

The secondary masses should never compete with the primary mass. 
For example: an oversized projected entry or portico (secondary mass) will overwhelm the house (primary mass) behind it. 
The McMansion has no concept of mass. 
McMansions often have so many secondary masses that the primary mass is reduced to a role of filling in gaps between the secondary masses. An example:
次体量永远不应与主体量相竞争。例如：一个过大的突出入口或门廊（次体量）会压倒其后的住宅（主体量）。麦豪宅没有体量的概念。麦豪宅通常有太多次体量，以至于主体量被降格为填补次体量之间空隙的角色。例如：

Another issue with McMansions and mass is the use of too many voids. Some McMansions are so guilty of this they resemble swiss cheese in appearance. In the below example, the masses are so pockmarked with voids, they give the façade an overall appearance of emptiness. 麦豪宅与体量相关的另一个问题，是使用了太多虚空。有些麦豪宅在这方面过于严重，以至于外观像瑞士奶酪。在下面的例子中，体量被虚空弄得坑坑洼洼，使立面整体呈现出一种空洞感。

Design Principle #2: Balance
设计原则 #2：平衡

Balance is the relationship among the parts of a building on either side of an imaginary centerline through the middle of the house. Houses can be symmetrically or asymmetrically balanced. 平衡是指建筑在穿过房屋中部的假想中心线两侧各部分之间的关系。房屋可以是对称平衡的，也可以是不对称平衡的。

In a symmetrically balanced house, the shapes on one side of the centerline match the shapes on the other side. The two halves are visually equal, as seen in the example below. 在对称平衡的住宅中，中心线一侧的形状与另一侧的形状相匹配。如下例所示，两半在视觉上相等。

In an asymmetrically balanced house, the shapes may not match exactly, but instead have equal visual weight they are still visually balanced. 在不对称平衡的住宅中，形状可能并不完全匹配，但它们具有相等的视觉重量；因此仍然在视觉上保持平衡。

Another example:另一个例子：

McMansions have notoriously poor balance. See the example below:麦豪宅的平衡感出了名地差。见下例：

In this design, one can barely tell where the line of symmetry is to be drawn due to the conflicting rooflines and architectural elements. Another example, where the line of symmetry is difficult to distinguish: 在这个设计中，由于相互冲突的屋顶线和建筑元素，人们几乎看不出应该在哪里画出对称线。另一个例子中，对称线也难以区分：

Design Principle #3: Proportion
设计原则 #3：比例

Proportion refers to the relationships of one part of a façade to the whole. A house that is correctly proportionate establishes a visual relationship between all parts of its exterior. The voids, primary, and secondary masses should all be proportional to one another in order maintain architectural harmony. 比例是指立面的一部分与整体之间的关系。比例恰当的住宅会使其外立面的所有部分之间建立视觉关系。为了保持建筑和谐，虚空、主体量和次体量都应当彼此成比例。

This is an example of a properly proportioned house: 这是一个比例恰当的住宅示例：

Another common feature of proportionate houses is that they abide by the ubiquitous Rule of Thirds. Below is an example of a simple suburban house, whose proportions properly follow this rule: 比例协调的住宅另一个常见特征是，它们遵循无处不在的三分法则。下面是一个简单郊区住宅的例子，其比例恰当地遵循了这一法则：

McMansions are horrible at proportions. Just look at this example, which completely lacks proportional harmony:麦豪宅在比例方面很糟糕。看看这个例子，它完全缺乏比例上的和谐：

Design Principle #4: Rhythm设计原则 #4：节奏

Rhythm in architecture describes the use of repetitive elements in order to establish architectural harmony. It is based off of three main principles: the principle of Proximity, the principle of Similarity, and the principle of Continuation. These principles are part of a larger set known as Gestalt Principles. 建筑中的节奏描述了为建立建筑和谐而使用重复元素。它基于三个主要原则：邻近原则、相似原则和连续原则。这些原则属于一组更大的原则，称为格式塔原则。

The principle of proximity states that objects that are close together should complement each other. This is the same principle that has us grouping four windows in two groups of two, rather than as four individuals. This colonial revival house properly demonstrates the principle of proximity:邻近原则指出，彼此靠近的物体应当相互补充。这同样是让我们把四扇窗分成两组、每组两扇，而不是分成四个独立个体的原则。这栋殖民复兴风格住宅恰当地展示了邻近原则：

The principle of similarity refers to how our eyes are easily able to group objects together that share common textures, colors, or features. A house demonstrates clutter by having too many shapes, too much variety, or seems generally disorganized. The same image as above also demonstrates the principle of similarity:相似原则是指我们的眼睛能够轻松地把具有共同纹理、颜色或特征的对象归为一组。一栋住宅如果形状太多、变化过多，或整体显得杂乱无章，就会表现出杂乱感。与上面相同的图像也展示了相似原则：

The principle of continuation refers to how the eye will move along a path in given direction until it reaches a final point. This is a useful tool in creating movement. In our colonial revival house, continuation is revealed through certain architectural details: 连续原则是指眼睛会沿着某一路径朝某一方向移动，直到到达终点。这是创造动感的一种有用工具。在我们的殖民复兴风格住宅中，连续性通过某些建筑细节体现出来：

McMansions lack architectural rhythm. This is one of the easiest ways to determine between a McMansion and a, well, mansion. Here is an example of a house with terrible rhythm. On the example below, none of the main windows match any of the other main windows. The contrasting materials distract the eye from an otherwise somewhat asymmetrically balanced (if massive) house. The inconsistency of the window shapes as well as the shutters make this house incredibly tacky. 麦豪宅缺乏建筑节奏。这是区分麦豪宅和，嗯，真正豪宅的最简单方法之一。下面是一栋节奏很糟糕的住宅示例。 在下面的例子中，没有任何一扇主窗与其他主窗相匹配。对比鲜明的材料会把视线从原本在某种程度上保持不对称平衡（尽管体量庞大）的住宅上引开。窗形的不一致以及百叶窗的不一致，使这栋住宅显得极其俗气。

This rounds up post #1 of McMansions 101 - but don’t worry, there are many more factors that make an otherwise normal suburban house a McMansion, and each will be covered in their own special posts. 以上就是《麦豪宅 101》第 1 篇的总结——不过别担心，还有许多因素会让原本普通的郊区住宅变成麦豪宅，每一项都会在其各自的专题文章中讨论。

Sources: 来源：

       Edelman, Sandra, Judy Gaman, and Robby Reid. What Not to Build: Architectural Options for Homeowners. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Creative Homeowner, 2006.桑德拉·埃德尔曼、朱迪·加曼和罗比·里德。《不该建造什么：业主的建筑选择》。上萨德尔河，NJ：Creative Homeowner，2006。

        McAlester, Virginia, A. Lee McAlester, Lauren Jarrett, and Juan Rodriguez-Arnaiz. A Field Guide to American Houses: The Definitive Guide to Identifying and Understanding America’s Domestic Architecture. 2nd ed. New York, NY: Knopf, 2013.  弗吉尼亚·麦卡利斯特、A. 李·麦卡利斯特、劳伦·贾勒特和胡安·罗德里格斯-阿尔奈斯。《美国家宅实地指南：识别和理解美国住宅建筑的权威指南》。2nd ed. 纽约，NY：Knopf，2013。

Photos taken from screenshots from Zillow.com. The use of this content is for the purposes of education, satire, and parody, consistent with 17 USC §107.照片取自 Zillow.com 的截图。使用此内容用于教育、讽刺和戏仿目的，符合 17 USC §107。

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