Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: common houses in small communities

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

On Dec 10, 2006, at 1:26 PM, Deborah Holzel wrote:

> We are in the process of developing a small community of 13-18 units 
> in midcoast Maine.  We are planning our common space and are wondering 
> what other small communities have found to be the optimal size of a 
> common house or common area.  Total square footage? Kitchen size?-- 
> number of refrigerators; what size stove, cupboard space, counter 
> space, etc.  Mail room?  General hang-out area? There are several 
> unknowns at this point.  So far we are older adults with no children, 
> so we don't yet know if we'll need play space.   Dining room and 
> kitchen are the givens.  We are wary of creating more common space 
> than we need.  We would appreciate any suggestions.

I've been waiting for this question. I think commonhouses are too big 
and communities are not prepared to take care of all the space they 
build. Having a common space for meetings is essential. The same space 
can be used for meals. Having a second space for small meetings and 
television watching is nice. Kid spaces are good. You need storage for 
games and lawnmowers.

Questions to ask yourselves: Who wants to manage the guest rooms (a 
small hotel)? Who wants to manage the office? Who wants to manage the 
exercise room? Who wants to organize the kids room and sort all the 
toys on a weekly basis? Who wants to clean an extra house every two 
weeks for the rest of your lives? Who wants to pay for two cable 
subscriptions? If you don't have people who are making realistic plans 
for how this is going to be done and how THEY are going to do it, I 
would suggest not building the space.

And my favorite question, since 3 of our 6 HVAC units, including the 
big main one, are nonfunctional at the moment and we are heating with a 
gas fireplace -- who wants to manage a building the size of a small 
school that has the same infrastructure?

I'm even beginning to question guest rooms. Nice but necessary? Most 
nights ours are empty. Once we got them up and running (which took 
time) they were used a lot for a year or so, and now it has 
declined--significantly. They are a lot of work. Once you are moved in 
and know each other there will be lots of empty beds and sofas everyone 
can use. I can go sleep with a friend and my guest can take my bed. On 
big holidays we have people sleeping all over the place anyway. No 
guest rooms situation can handle a big holiday.

I would put all the files online and eliminate the office. People can 
borrow their neighbor's computer just as easily as go to the 
commonhouse when their own is on the fritz. People who know they will 
be having constant guests need their own guest room. Build inexpensive 
outdoor storage for tools and lawn equipment.

AND, to reduce lots of rooms, put excellent acoustics on the great room 
so people can play games in one corner, watch football in another, and 
chop vegetables in another without bothering each other. Using walls to 
cut off sound is also cutting off people and in the end much more 
expensive than acoustics. Over pad the room and then use it ALL the 
time for EVERYTHING.

Sharon
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Sharon Villines
Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
http://www.takomavillage.org