Ugly Canada 2 (Only architecture, planning and design faux pas) - Page 201

O-tacular · #**4001** Posted **Feb 4, 2020, 6:04 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by TownGuy

To steal an Albertan term I'd call those more of "cab over" houses.

Snout house, IMO.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/jVV4dEJcUMNu5LKNA

https://maps.app.goo.gl/8RJ8KFURRzpmGhHV9

I've never heard that term before.

TorontoDrew · #**4002** Posted **Feb 4, 2020, 6:19 PM**

A cab over or snout nose? I've never heard of Cab Over. And look a those depressing examples. They would/could look better ifthe they were pulled up withing a few meteres of the road and put those garages in a lane way. Those long skinny useless front lawns are good for nothing.

Acajack · #**4003** Posted **Feb 4, 2020, 7:03 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by TownGuy

To steal an Albertan term I'd call those more of "cab over" houses.

Snout house, IMO.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/jVV4dEJcUMNu5LKNA

https://maps.app.goo.gl/8RJ8KFURRzpmGhHV9

OK, so I gather that part of the snout house look is that the garage really sticks out front from the rest of the house, in addition to taking up most of the façade.

My house's garage is pretty flush with the rest of the façade, and it makes up about 40% of what you see from the street. We also have one of the kids' bedrooms above the garage with multiple windows.

I'd plead guilty (with an explanation) to "McMansion", but not to "snout house".

DrJoe · #**4004** Posted **Feb 4, 2020, 7:33 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by TorontoDrew

A cab over or snout nose? I've never heard of Cab Over. And look a those depressing examples. They would/could look better ifthe they were pulled up withing a few meteres of the road and put those garages in a lane way. Those long skinny useless front lawns are good for nothing.

Not sure what examples you're referring to but it doesn't take a ton of lawn to grow a nice tree, so I wouldn't call a "skinny" lawn useless. Most old neighborhoods with old massive trees have them growing on a thin boulevard. A homeowner could also take any amount of lawn and turn it into gardens.

From looking at some of the example posted I almost wonder if laneways lead to less greenspace overall since you have the redundancy of what is essentially 2 roads.

megadude · #**4005** Posted **Feb 4, 2020, 8:28 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acajack

This seems like a lot. Are we all posting with the same definition of a snout house in mind?

Yup. None of these houses I'm talking about had the garage only stick out a little bit. If some were borderline then I'll say maybe a couple were.

I remember that even into my early 20s, living in a house built before the 80s that was not snout seemed so foreign to me.

TorontoDrew · #**4006** Posted **Feb 4, 2020, 9:27 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrJoe

Not sure what examples you're referring to but it doesn't take a ton of lawn to grow a nice tree, so I wouldn't call a "skinny" lawn useless. Most old neighborhoods with old massive trees have them growing on a thin boulevard. A homeowner could also take any amount of lawn and turn it into gardens.

From looking at some of the example posted I almost wonder if lane ways lead to less green space overall since you have the redundancy of what is essentially 2 roads.

They are just butt ugly and create a very unfriendly looking street. And I would say the greenest streets in Toronto are the ones with Lane-ways and small tiny front yards. Those Snout Nose homes use almost or in some cases more then 50% for driveways.

The vast majority in these shots are made up of homes with small front yards and lane-ways. I would say these pictures speak for themselves and answer your question as to whether laneways reduce green space.

Toronto Aerial #06 by Michael Muraz, on Flickr

Aerial-Toronto-88 by _futurelandscapes_, on Flickr

Aerial-Toronto-8 by _futurelandscapes_, on Flickr

Aerial-Toronto-209 by _futurelandscapes_, on Flickr

Aerial-Toronto-14 by _futurelandscapes_, on Flickr

Aerial-Toronto-388 by _futurelandscapes_, on Flickr

Aerial-Toronto-384 by _futurelandscapes_, on Flickr

It's only in parts of the city where people used to be allowed to pave their front yards for parking where the green starts to thin out. YOu can see the dividing line here on the left side.

Aerial-Toronto-20 by _futurelandscapes_, on Flickr

DrJoe · #**4007** Posted **Feb 4, 2020, 9:34 PM**

The greenest neighborhoods in Toronto are the oldest. No reason new subdivisions can't attain that in time. A snout house has less greenspace at the front but more at the back. New subdivisions also won't have overhead infrastructure to contend with.

TorontoDrew · #**4008** Posted **Feb 4, 2020, 9:45 PM**

True, doesn't make them less ugly though. Any house where 50% of the focas at the front is for the garage will never look nice.

DrJoe · #**4009** Posted **Feb 4, 2020, 10:38 PM**

No they won't look as nice from the front, but as has been discussed, they will generally have a nicer (well, larger) backyard. So you can see the appeal of that.

O-tacular · #**4010** Posted **Feb 19, 2020, 6:25 PM**

This isn't Canadian but WTF:

China's in a league of its own.

megadude · #**4011** Posted **Feb 19, 2020, 8:07 PM**

Ever seen a house covered entirely in shingles? It's not ugly to look at, just very odd looking and quite unique. Though it is in bad shape.

I think it's one of those houses behind a house that you can now sell in Toronto as separate property. Was probably a guest house/rental before. You have to walk between two houses then through someone's backyard and then you're home.

https://www.zolo.ca/toronto-real-est...-rhodes-avenue

stevanford1 · #**4012** Posted **Feb 19, 2020, 11:23 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by o-tacular

this isn't canadian but wtf:

china's in a league of its own.

holy mother of god!!!

stevanford1 · #**4013** Posted **Feb 19, 2020, 11:27 PM**

Misisssauga's Radisson/Trump Tower

The inside is just as bad if not worse

EDIT: In retrospect it is what happens when the Brossard Mafia Villa gets turned into a skyscraper.

O-tacular · #**4014** Posted **Feb 20, 2020, 3:36 PM**

It's completely tacky and garish but I'm actually impressed by the quality of the painting in the vaulted ceiling. Especially for a shitty Radisson brand hotel.

megadude · #**4015** Posted **Feb 21, 2020, 5:08 PM**

This looks more like a "compound" to me than a house. Don't think I'd buy this for the millions it's worth in this area of TO. Even just adding one more window above the garage to add symmetry would greatly improve this IMO.

stevanford1 · #**4016** Posted **Feb 22, 2020, 11:03 PM**

Air conditioning, heart shaped tubs AND color TV. Wow its like im looking at The Ritz

From a TripAdvisor review titled "bed bugs".

Its Sexytime!

Hawrylyshyn · #**4017** Posted **Feb 22, 2020, 11:33 PM**

I always love driving by this beauty in Hamilton (it's been in this state for approximately 4 years now, and the "Christmas lights" never come off)

stevanford1 · #**4018** Posted **Feb 22, 2020, 11:39 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hawrylyshyn

I always love driving by this beauty in Hamilton (it's been in this state for approximately 4 years now, and the "Christmas lights" never come off)

That is bizarrely hilarious

.

Hali87 · #**4019** Posted **Feb 23, 2020, 12:58 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by O-tacular

It's completely tacky and garish but I'm actually impressed by the quality of the painting in the vaulted ceiling. Especially for a shitty Radisson brand hotel.

The interior is interesting, and at least they clearly tried, but the exterior is just so poorly executed. The materials they chose probably cost more but overall look worse (IMO) than if they hadn't tried at all and just gone with the "stock Radisson exterior". On top of that the signage clashes with the detailing they did choose.

Hali87 · #**4020** Posted **Feb 23, 2020, 1:21 AM**

This had never really occurred to me before now but Snout Houses aren't really a thing in Halifax (or its suburbs). Maybe that's why I find them so visually jarring. The equivalents here would be basically what Acajack described:

https://goo.gl/maps/z2MK752Srds2g4JN9
(some of the garages protrude slightly, but they're not like a whole extra building tacked on to the front of the house. If you turn around, all the garages on the other side of the street are flush with the facade)

Or they simply wouldn't have a garage at all:
https://goo.gl/maps/RRnd8tyikvALQhcD9
(bonus "lawn-with-trees-instead")

Open-air "car ports" are also quite popular in the suburbs here:
https://goo.gl/maps/yfYmRrCArFgcg8E77

I get the impression there's specific lot proportions that favour the snout-house, and that these lot proportions are common in the GTA and uncommon in the rest of the ROC. Much as the inner-city Toronto Bay-and-Gables seem unusually narrow compared to similar houses elsewhere.

Also, areas that look like they'd have laneways tend to have shared parking areas tucked in amongst the buildings instead:
https://goo.gl/maps/to5DmbwM2p8g9ixv9

Laneways aren't 100% nonexistent here but they're very uncommon.