Cohousing-L Mailing List: Common House Usage Questions

[Joe Nolan (jnolan]

Hi all,
I'm preparing to move from one coho to another (from FROG to SONG within
Ecovillage Ithaca). I'm serving on the design committee for the SONG CH,
and wondering how much to trust my own "wisdom" from 6 years experience
with the FROG CH. I find I'm constantly feeling skeptical about
idealistic visions for the new CH that often sound naive to me. So, I'd
like to ask some questions of this group, to get a better grasp of "what
is really possible" in the use of a CH, as distinct from the original
visions of what should happen. For various usage goals, please describe
what conditions, rules, etc you feel were essential in making it work
(or why it has failed).
TIA for any feedback!
Your completed response will make you eligible for a free 3-day stay in
our new CH!!

HANGING OUT
Newbies here fantasize a lot about pleasant times "hanging out" in or
around the CH during non-meal times. This almost never happens in FROG,
even if someone announces that they are providing
tea/bagels/newspapers/etc. Hard to get a critical mass.
- Does it happen in your CH?
- What are the "magnets" that draw people in?
- Does it depend on a visual connection from outdoor high-traffic areas?
- Laundry seems a likely nexus for socializing during non-busy times.
Any success with enhancing the laundry experience, e.g. with ping-pong,
comfy chairs, etc?
- What if any "Rec Room" amenities get used a lot, e.g. pool, ping-pong,
air hockey, etc?

QUIET PLAY & CRAFTS
Another popular idea is that children can be involved in quiet
activities such as art, crafts, puzzles, LEGOs, reading, etc. In FROG
the play room is like an indoor playground (plus dress-ups) and is
usually used in a loud boisterous manner, mainly after common meals or
during meetings. Fragile or messy items have been removed due to
experiences resulting from unsupervised use. The quieter activities seem
to require an adult to initiate and oversee, e.g. we can have a Craft
Night or Games Night if an adult makes the effort to organize it &
ensure that cleanup happens.
- Do children utilize your CH during non-busy (meal/mtg) times?
- Is there a rule or system for supervision of children during busy times?
- Do quieter activities for children "work" in your CH?
  - If so, what is the key factor in enabling them to work?
- Do quieter play & boisterous play require separate rooms in your
experience?

INTEGRATING CHILDREN
- Any tips on what works for including children in daily activities such
as cooking, laundry, cleanup?
- We have windows between play room & dining area in FROG, which works
pretty well. What other space adjacencies/strategies have worked out
well in CHs?

LIBRARY/MEDIA
- Have you had success in sharing music CDs, videos, etc?
- Success with sharing computers, printer, fax, etc?
- Success with TV/VCR?

FLEX SPACE
A popular idea here is to economize by making flexible spaces where
furniture can be quickly stowed. In FROG, we have one room that works
this way, and it gets used for meetings, wild play, and yoga.
- What other uses for flexible space have you found & what makes them
possible?

FITNESS EQUIPMENT
- Good or bad experiences with sharing fitness machines, e.g. rowers,
steppers, Cybex-style?

DISH ROOM
My experience is that the noise & moisture associated with dishwashing
necessitates a separate room adjacent to dining area.
- Different experiences?

COMBINING FUNCTIONS
To reduce cost and increase socializing, it is desirable to combine
multiple functions into spaces. However, fear of noise problems,
unsupervised children ,etc often drive us to separate the functions.
Here I'm not talking "flex" spaces, but spaces with permanent
furnitures/fixtures (e.g. laundry + fitness equip).
- What functions have you successfully combined into one space?

OFFICES
Some in SONG are wary of negative impacts of private offices, especially
for client-based businesses. FROG has had mainly good experiences with
offices, after we solved a noise transmission problem.
- What positive or negative effects has your community felt from private
offices in (or external to) the CH?
- What degree of separation seems best?

GREEN FEATURES
- What ecologically sound features have worked well (e.g. solar cooker,
herb garden, etc)?

Thanks!!!!!!
Joe Nolan
Ecovillage at Ithaca
<http://www.ecovillage.ithaca.ny.us/>





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