different == trendy

So then different == ugly?

not necessarily, I disagree with the assertion that ugly == trendy. And different of course doesn't always equal trendy..

In the end, these things are really hard to pin down.

A more serious answer... I believe that concepts like this are often of an "unusual" design as a way of capturing your attention and forcing you to really look at the package.

Current "normal" housing designs are capable of being highly efficient with (relatively) minor visible changes. However a super high-eff house that looks like any other house won't have the same punch that a high-eff house that also looks like an architectural innovation would have.