The Bow (Arrow phase II) | 15 fl | Completed

[ac3r]

Drewlo I don't mind. They're not building luxury housing, and the rent prices are affordable to a large portion of the population. Good design costs money, and I'm glad people are getting housed.

Auburn charges premium prices for crap. It's nothing but lack of effort.

I have to disagree, Good design does not cost an extraordinary amount of money.

It does cost money to end up with a good design, whether it implies a good physical/material design or aesthetic design. Architects make a lot of money for what we do. If Drewlo wanted to implement better designs in their buildings it would be reflected in the cost at all levels (and thus ultimately pushed onto the renter/buyer). They fill a niche - new, affordable and modest housing - which is a good thing.

In a way, you are right in saying that it's possible to design a simpler building which can potentially minimize costs in some areas, but it has to be done right or you just end up with a mess. The student buildings all over Waterloo are a good example. They look bad, function even worse and I wonder about the longevity of a lot of these buildings in terms of maintenance.