Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: [common house accessibility

[Ann Zabaldo (ann.zabaldo]

Hi Kathryn!

This is certainly a clever solution.

Have you considered what it might be like for a disabled person to
have to go outside in the winter or in the rain to get to the other
floor?  I'm assuming the TABs (Temporarily Abled Bodied) will have a
set of stairs inside to get from one floor to the other floor?  If
this is so, what would it be like to put the stairs on the outside of
the building and have everyone have to go outside to get from one
floor to the other?  You see how crazy this can get?  Or, are you
possibly planning to do this?  This would, indeed, be novel.  Not
practical, but definitely novel.

-- 
Ann Zabaldo
Voice 202-291-7892
Fax 202-291-8594
Takoma Village Cohousing
Washington, DC
Principal, Cohousing Collaborative, LLC
McLean, VA


On Thu, May 8, 2008 at 6:34 PM, Ed and/or Kathryn Belzer
<belzer [at] chaswoodcohousing.ca> wrote:
>
>  Hi,
>
>  At the meetings for the Commonhouse design for Chaswood Green, we
>  have now on the table a design whereby the CH will be built like a
>  "hillside barn" in that the lower level will be walk out, at the
>  bottom of the hill; and the upper level will also be accessible
>  because the upper side of the hill allows for this side to be at
>  ground level at the top of the hill.  This may work out to spare us
>  the electricity load of an elevator.
>
>  Kathryn Belzer
>  www.chaswoodcohousing.ca