by Royce Radcliffe

Created on: April 18, 2007   Last Updated: April 27, 2007

There are a lot of reasons why builders mix architectural designs in today's new houses and understanding what they are and their ramifications is vital for true awareness of architecture as it is used and defined today. Delving in to this issue can be very enlightening...

The first reason that so many styles are employed is that there is not true definition of what constitutes modern architecture. All architecture up until this point has been advancing to give us the plethora of options available today. There is no concrete identity for our current world as far as architecture is concerned and that opens the door for anything.

The second reason so many styles are employed is that architects are often not used at all. Many builders have cut the architect out of the process and instead design based on a theme instead of a specific design. This may produce more generic houses but it also results in a greater variety being chosen and implemented by homeowners.

The third reason is that people feel the same need they have felt since the dawn of time: the need to be unique. With the increasingly available options of being able to individualize your house many people will try to buck the trends around them for its own sake. This is also a world of many unique individuals who simply have their own taste and technology has finally allowed them an easy means to realize their preferences as far as architecture is concerned.

When you look around at the world today the style of any one area may seem hard to define. As we grow into a more independent and empowered world the unique decisions of many homeowners will be reflected in a grand tapestry of personalized buildings as unique as the person who owns them.

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