Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: re Formation meeting

[Laura Fitch (lfitch]

Alex,

I just remembered.  If you are interested in coming to PVCH tonight, there
will be a presentation at 6:45 or 7:00?  On ecovillages. 


Laura Fitch, AIA, LEED
Kraus-Fitch Architects, Inc
110 Pulpit Hill Rd.
Amherst, MA  01002
413-549-5799
lfitch [at] krausfitch.com
www.krausfitch.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Alex Kent [mailto:alex.m.kent [at] comcast.net] 
Sent: Saturday, October 03, 2009 8:18 AM
To: 'Cohousing-L'
Cc: felicia.sevene [at] comcast.net
Subject: Re: [C-L]_ re Formation meeting


Hello Rod,

Many thanks for your advice.  I've been to see Ecovillage, before the SoNG
project got underway, and I liked what I saw.  I didn't know they had
adopted some of the owner-builder approach.

Alex

-----Original Message-----
From: Rod Lambert [mailto:rod [at] ecovillage.ithaca.ny.us]
Sent: Friday, October 02, 2009 7:11 PM
To: cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org
Subject: [C-L]_ re Formation meeting


Alex and Felicia,
I hope that you find time to learn from other groups that have used a 
similar construction model. If possible, interview residents at places 
like Rosewind, Sharingwood and SoNG at EcoVillage at Ithaca. A gathering 
of facts, rhetoric and reality would be a great resource for those 
thinking of pushing the envelope of possibilities. The adaptation of 
Danish cohousing ideas, or more broadly, rebuilding community in 
America, is still a work in progress. Methods, designs, social 
structures, etc. are still evolving as the need arises.

Good luck,

Rod Lambert
Whole Community Design
SoNG at EcoVillage at Ithaca, NY

> Date: Thu, 1 Oct 2009 14:14:12 +0000 (UTC)
> From: alex.m.kent [at] comcast.net
> Subject: [C-L]_ Formation meeting
> To: cohousing-L [at] cohousing.org
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> [A partial version of this message was sent inadvertently before it was
completed.] 
>
>
> A formation meeting for a small cohousing community in the Amherst,
Massachusetts area is scheduled for Saturday, November 7, 2009, 10:00-12:00
at the Jones Library in downtown Amherst. 
>
>
> While there are several thriving cohousing communities in the
Amherst/Northampton area, we propose a smaller-scale community with around 8
units connected by covered walkways to a common house. In contrast to other
communities, individual units in this community would be somewhat smaller,
while the common house would serve more clearly defined roles as a common
living room for all members. 
>
>
> We believe that one of the shortcomings of the cohousing communities with
which we are familiar is their resemblance to intentional condominium
communities. Although some communities are more communal than others, our
goal is to create a place in which people spend a good deal more of their
time living, studying, socializing, and eating in the common house than they
do in their own individual homes. 
>
>
> Another problem with a good deal of cohousing is its lack of
affordability. 3- 4-bedroom homes with price tags upward of $600,000 are not
affordable by most people. 
>
>
> Yet another goal of the community we envision is to encourage to the
greatest extent possible the owner/builder model. Clearly there are limits
to the degree to which owners can build their own homes: Limitations in
terms of time, skill, and the requirements of local building codes are some
that come to mind. But we feel that a small community can be brought
together and made stronger -- not to mention being built more economically
-- when members wield saws and swing hammers on their own. This is a model
that has been adopted very successfully by Habitat for Humanity, and we see
no reason why it can't work in the cohousing movement. 
>
>
> We look forward to meeting interested people at the Jones Library in
Amherst on November 7. 
>
>
> Alex Kent (alex.m.kent [at] comcast.net) 
> Felicia Sevene 
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