Myth #1: “When home-buyers look at remodeling or adding on, it makes more sense fiscally to start from scratch.”
The reality is that the issue is not a financial one, but rather the misguided fascination for more square footage, the brand new syndrome and the false sense of status that the homeowner is seeking from those two motivations. Existing homes with at least some structural integrity can be re-designed and renovated with exterior modifications and additions for more space and accomplished far more economically. On the inside, kitchens and bathrooms can be made new again. Re-designing for exterior and interior improvements will cost far less than it takes to teardown a home and build a new one of similar quality and aesthetic. Read the rest of this entry »
Part of the work involved in our field as designers, of all disciplines, places us in the role of visionaries. To combine aspects of design, culture, art, architecture, nature in a way that creates a better quality of life in our cities is the common goal. We hope that by supporting like-minded individuals as our decision makers, we will promote and someday actualize our vision of a cosmopolitan city. Creativity can couple with prosperity in this world. Health and wellness can foster greater understanding of the less-is-more mentality. Reducing our need for space and things on a daily basis can lead to greater room for future generations.
We honestly believe MAB agrees with us on the subject of Raleigh’s smart growth and advancement. A city that attracts and retains creative contributors as its residents…City decision-makers are very interested in the idea of mass transit as of late, which we see as an integral part of reducing suburban sprawl and pollution associated with our vehicles. Along these lines, the possibility of a more pedestrian-friendly city space that is housed in a centralized zone has recently been discussed among city politicians. We applaud the introduction and further discussion of these topics as a matter of public discourse. Now that local elections have resulted in a decidedly progressive city council, the voters’ have expressed their desire to support more dynamic ideas, growth, and advancement of the place where we live and work and play.
On my accumulated list of things I really want to do is to curate (is it legal to curate and have a submission in a show simultaneously?!) a show for which the only theme is “Time”.
Weirdly, this showed up in my RSS feed list yesterday. Icastic, a visualization specialty firm, asked people how they visualize time. There are some truly beautiful entries, like the one at left.
It’s also interesting to see the age/gender/profession of some of the entrants. The younger folks have some unexpected angles that I identify with, as well as ones from engineering minded folks. The ones I submitted haven’t shown up yet.
We freely admit it. We’re proponents of urban design and living. We’ve been gluttons not only with interior space but also exterior. It’s not the quantity of space that matters - it’s the quality.
Getting away from people can be done as effectively within a home as it can from moving to the middle of nowhere. And it impacts far less of the planet. Who hasn’t lost track of time reading, surfing, tinkering, or watching a movie in that “cave room” in their house? (That rarely used guest room can be turned into a library, movie, or a meditation room.) Bottom line? There’s less space in the city, but designed well, gives us everything we need on a daily level. Without paving it all and disrupting natural systems for building new infrastructures to support the invading humans.
Effective, smart urban in-fill is about as green as we can be. It will take all of us to do it:
us, to haul our butts out to vote for people who share that mindset, and
leaders who can drive that mindset to tangible results like mass transit and better planning that allows for the coexistence of elements of suburbia and city life.
As far as #2 goes, Mary-Ann Baldwin holds positive views of urban in-fill and smart city planning. She’s got our vote for City Council.
It’s ironic that voting is perceived as an irrelevant action; on a national level there may be some truth to that. On a local level, however, we probably have much more influence than we know, and yet voter turnout is 11%. We’ll be filling out our ballots on October 9. We might even wear green. Will you?
About 5 or 6 years ago I stumbled across Theo’s work online. There’s a lot of math & science behind his work. Wikipedia entry. Glad to see him getting more exposure.
How “Green” is usually defined: Recycling. Cradle-to-cradle. Carbon footprint. Eating locally. Low VOC’s. Biodegradable. Telecommuting. Space. Space?
Yep, space. Not outer space. Living/working/playing space.
We’ve been gluttonous space hogs with home design, especially. We don’t need 2k, 4k or more SF for a livable home. My partner and I are getting ready to downsize from 1500SF to just under 1k. We sold our living room furniture to see if we could do without. Turns out, we never use the living room anyway. That space, along with the wasted circulation space easily added up to 500SF. So we decided to go for it.
In the process, we’re decluttering. All that stuff in the closets? If it’s not sentimental and we don’t use it, out it goes. Bigger homes mean room for more accumulated stuff. More accumulated stuff means more to move next time. Or more to have to find a new place for, be it donation or the landfill. The old 80/20 rule applies to stuff, too: we use 20% of our stuff 80% of the time. Guess what’s in the closets? The other 80% of our stuff.
It’s possible to live in under 300SF for a week or more. That’s the average size for a hotel room. Hotel QT in the heart of NYC does it very well, and with style to boot. It works because it uses space well. There are shelves in high and low places. Anywhere a gap exists is potential for storage or mounting something out of the way. Like flat screen TV’s. Or art.
We don’t live in NYC. There’s plenty of space around here in central NC. So why downsize inside the city limits? Because it’s the green thing to do. It will be cheaper to condition, furnish and clean. It will keep us from collecting crap we don’t need or use. It’s part of a multi-floor building with a small footprint. It’s within walking distance of a grocery, a bus line, a library, and many restaurants. And ironically, it will leave more money in our pockets for when we do venture outside the city.
Stay tuned for Part II: container gardening, and nature within civilization.
Color has always been a paralytic challenge for me: So. Many. Choices. A good way to get beyond the mind boggling number of possibilities is to take inspiration from local nature. It provides continuity from inside to outside, and can bring memory of different seasons to life at a different time of year.
As an example, I generated a palette from a photo I took of a trumpet vine bloom visible from our living space (click the image to get to the online color generator site):
I can choose from a 3×3, 5×5 or 7×7 grid, depending on how many options I want to cull from the image. Voila - a narrowed field of 25 as opposed to 16 million. Simpler is always better. In this case, there are several colors with very subtle differences, and some with a tad more punch. A good sampling to choose from, whether the end application is fabric, paint, or lighting.
The spatial relationship we all have with our home, office, retail store or even the hotel room you’re staying in, has an affect on us. Our moods can be altered by the comfort and peacefulness of the space. The solution is simplicity. The guiding principles of Zen design are centered around this concept and by contemplating the organic nature of our surroundings.
Simply put, the movement back to a “less is more” philosophy is a direct response to our hectic, busy lives. We’re choosing a lifestyle with less complexity and clutter. We want our homes to be a sanctuary from the turbulent world around us. A clean and minimal approach is not a style, but a way of living that integrates the utilitarian nature of classic modern design and the Eastern principles of living close to nature with more awareness of our environ.
Color, texture and light find a prominent role in modern design as compared to the often time fussiness of decoration found in the conventional Georgian and Colonial eras of the past. The concept is to create an environment that is tranquil and harmonious, yet never pretentious or intimidating.
You may say that your “stuff” has sentimental value. We’ll acknowledge that, yet still advocate for the integration of built in storage units with sliding doors or Shoji panels where things can be neatly organized. For display, consider glass shelving with halogen lighting to accentuate your art. The living space is then free flowing and creates an open, airy feeling, providing uninterrupted chi’.
