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

[Racheli Gai (racheli]

Hi
After living in this community (Sonora Cohousing, Tucson) for roughly
6 years, to my judgment all of our common rooms are very well used, and
I don't regret us having built any of them.  I suspect that this 
feeling is shared
by many of the people living here. Our guest room is used extensively, 
BTW.
Having only one - I doubt that anyone sees it being too much work.
In addition to the kind of spaces Sharon mentioned, we also have a 
crafts
room (for relatively "clean" activities), and a workshop - for wood and
metalwork. We don't have a room designated as "office", though.
I wish we had another room to store shared stuff in.

IMO there isn't a "one size fits all" answer to the question of how much
common space (and what kind) a community should have: It's really 
important
to sort out the particular needs and wishes of the members ahead of time
(I realize that it's tricky, because people come and go), so that 
what's built
is not superfluous.  Ideally, I'd think building in such a way that 
expansion
is possible might be a good idea - but I don't know how workable it is
in real life.

Best,
Racheli.
PS Our community consists of 36 households.

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