Hi everyone. This is Alline filling in for Jordan, who had to go California unexpectedly (hi Jordan! We miss you!).
OK. Here is your hypothetical/imaginary assignment for today. You are asked to design a new community building for your neighborhood. You’ll be working with the 50 neighbors who live closest to you. Oh, heck. For this exercise I’ll even let you choose people that you actually like. You and these 50 people share core values but have very different opinions about how things should be done. Now –
Your first step is to agree on what features the building will have. The finished design must meet these requirements set by the group; in this case, the requirements include a kitchen that is both space-efficient and able to produce meals for a crowd, a pantry, space for indoor and outdoor dining, a play room for the kids that allows them to have access to their parents but still able to be (noisy) kids without disturbing everyone in the building, a library, quiet meeting rooms, a gathering space that is big enough for large groups and yet acoustically viable, a library, showers and toilets, etc… ). The building design must meet stringent environmental guidelines and be built with sustainable materials. You must design it so that it falls within the budget (which you first must determine), and then raise the money with which to build it. And if that were not challenging enough, here is the kicker: you must do it without bloodshed, yelling, or even snide or sarcastic remarks. Sound impossible?
I am pleased to announce that on Sunday the community met with architect Alex and the Common House Design Committee and approved the general design for our new Community Building. Yay!
This has been a loooooooonnnng process. There have been meetings, salons and other creative forums for inviting and clarifying community input. Behind the scenes there have been hours and hours and hours of research on exciting aspects like ground source heating and mundane subjects like low-flow shower heads. And it all came together beautifully on Sunday.
I have to admit I was a teeny bit skeptical and went to the meeting a tad nervously. I had seen a computer rendering of the building and was not yet convinced – it looked angular, awkward and, well, not very attractive. But in the meeting Alex (and his very cool computer program) took us through elevation by elevation, room by room. The rendering I had seen was woefully incomplete – windows, solar panels and other important aspects had not been visible on that early drawing. The building that is now is on the drawing board is filled with thoughtful solutions to our myriad of challenges.
After the presentation the facilitator gave everyone the opportunity to express concerns, if any. There were questions about the very high ceiling in the great room, and a few about another design aspect, but otherwise we’re good to go. It was pretty impressive.
No doubt you’ll be hearing about this building in the months and years to come. But let us pause and reflect in gratitude for all of the work that has been done so far, and what we’ve accomplished. We’ve cleared the first hurdle. Here’s to our little village – cheers!