Sitting next door to an elegant Castle must be a bit like following Sinatra on stage, but the new-construction condo building at 4203 N Kedvale Ave somehow succeeds as a sort of Petit Trianon to its sprawling neighbor. The layers of triangular arches — on windows and at several points along the roof — do enough to make the building interesting and keep it in step with its surroundings without trying too hard to stand out. Of course, that tacky strand of multi-colored flags changes all that. Condos in the eight-unit building have three bedrooms, and prices start in the $390s.
Seven gables worked great for Hawthorne, but they look pretty silly here. Contextual design is fine, but when the surrounding context for a 21st century condo building in a major American city is 16th century England, best to ignore context and shoot for something fresh.
I’ll give them an a for effort, The overall look came out looking very “eighties” though, and not at all tudor.
At least it doesn’t have cinder block. At least, it doesn’t appear to?