Why are Americans obsessed with big houses? The booming economy of the 1980s created great personal wealth, and wealth found expression in domestic architecture, as it always does. These large houses were variously referred to as trophy houses, starter castles, and McMansions. It isn't just that they were big, like their namesake Big Macs; it's that they celebrated bigness. Look at the house on the right. It resembles two buildings pushed together. The squashed impression is heightened by the three crowded dormers on the roof. It's also a matter of scale. Especially in a large house, the relationship of the different parts is important. Here, the blank gables and the spacing of the windows (which are too far apart) and of the dormers (which are too close together) make this boxy house look bigger than it really is. The proportions of the entrance portico likewise feel awkward. The resulting scale makes the house appear impersonal, almost commercial, like a converted mill building.