Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Common House: Woulda Coulda Shoulda

[Howard Landman (howard]

I would have though a lot more about each of the separate uses of the rooms
and how they could be supported.  We thought to put speaker wires into the
main room walls, but there are no speakers, and there was no place reserved
for a stereo/PA system, so the wires come out in a cabinet over a sink
which has no power and no room for normal-sized equipment.  There was no
thought given to lighting for performances or parties - when I want to
throw a dance I have to spend hours setting things up and then more hours
tearing them down, and there is no way to make the room lighting stronger
at one end of the room ("the stage").  A little forethought could have
easily fixed this.

No provision was made for visual media (movies, TV).  There is no place
really for the community to (e.g.) watch a videotape or DVD.

The original design had a place for a hot tub, but we had to expand the
bathrooms to meet handicapped requirements, and walls got moved, and now
the hot tub area is pretty cramped.  Unless there is someone actively
defending such spaces, they can easily get trampled in the rush to finish
construction.  And most people will be overwhelmed with the details of
their own units, and won't be paying much attention to the CH.

        Howard A. Landman
        River Rock Commons, Fort Collins CO
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