Neo-eclectic architecture is a name for the architectural style that has dominated residential building construction in North America in the later part of the 20th century and early part of the 21st. Neo-eclectic architecture combines a wide array of decorative techniques taken from an assortment of different historical house styles. It is a rejection of the simple and unadorned modernist styles, such as the ranch house that dominated North American residential construction in the decades after the Second World War. It can be considered an outgrowth of postmodern architecture. It differs from postmodernism in that it is not attempting to be experimental.
Neo-eclectic architecture is most prominent in what are pejoratively known as McMansions, but it has been embraced by almost all residential builders. Across North America most suburbs built in the last three decades can largely be described as neo-eclectic.
Some neo-eclectic buildings will combine an array of different historical styles in a single building. Thus a house so designed may have Cape Cod, Mission, Tudor, or even French Provincial elements all at the same time. Often houses, or whole subdivisions, will focus on one revival style. Different historical styles predominated in different regions. In California elements from the Spanish Revival style are popular, while in New England the Neo Colonial is common.[1] In neo-eclectic architecture the revival elements are almost always decorative consisting of surface elements such as claddings and windows. The basic construction of neo-eclectic houses is unchanged from previous house styles such as the ranch-style house. An important development leading to the modern neo-electic style is the popularity of EIFS, a form of external insulation that is easy to apply and can be coloured and shaped to appear like an array of different materials such as stucco and stone.
Neo-eclectic architecture, while ubiquitous in contemporary American home building, does have its critics who see the style as pretentious, wasteful and/or garish.[2]
See also
- Neomodern architecture, the rival current style
References
- ^ "What Not to Build: Do's and Don'ts of Exerior Home Design." By Sandra Edelman, Judith Kay Gaman, Judy Gaman, Robby Reid, Creative Homeowner Press.
- ^ Cathleen McGuigan, The Mcmansion Next Door, Newsweek, October 27, 2003. Retrieved on 2008-10-26.
External links
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