Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Design that pushes the Envelope (fwd)

[Catherine Harper (tylik]

Pretty sure this was meant for the list in general.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 04 Nov 1997 07:24:30 -0800
From: Smith & McGowan <mcsmith [at] albany.net>
To: tylik [at] eskimo.com
Subject: Re: Design that pushes the Envelope

Catherine Harper's comment about borrowing design from the status quo is
interesting to Creek's Bend Cohousing in Troy New York.  We are about to
begin our concrete design period and would like to hear ideas that would
"push the envelope" on design and yet be affordable and marketable in
the regions.

Toni Smith, Creeks Bend Cohousing, a peninsula into the Poestenkill
Creek is looking for households email or call 518-432-6260.R 


Catherine Harper wrote:
> 
> On Mon, 20 Oct 1997 mkiefer [at] peabodybrown.com wrote:
> 
> >      I also agree that cohousing is different from other utopian movements
> > in that it seeks to be part of, and to influence, the mainstream.  This is
> > part of its strength, but its important to realize that its also why
> > cohousing groups haven't pushed the edge of the envelope more design-wise.
> > I, too, hope and believe that they will in time, as the concept itself
> > becomes less exotic.
> 
> This comment interested me because for the most part, while I recognise
> that cohousing has been fertilized by many a utopian movement, I don't
> tend to think of cohousing as a utopian movement per se.  It's emphasis is
> too much on the practical (which admittedly is easier to do, having so
> many experiments to look at and analyse and check for probably mistakes).
> At it's core it seems to focus on not so much "what would be the best
> concievable thing" but "what are we able to do that will work, and will
> last".
> 
>                                 Catherine