What does it mean, ...
...A new poetry of the domestic space? Dear Trivian, I sound like an academic.
I presented a webinar on bioclimatic design last week. There where some interesting questions at the end.
Of course, a lot of "yes but how?" questions looking for shortcuts and easy tweaks that will make a house instantly bioclimatic. And a lot of, "Oh, this is harder that I thought".
But also, and this got me thinking, "Isn't it interesting how there are so many parameters to it but also no right answer?" (Merci Maud!) And it's liberating to know that you can choose either direction and still be on the right track.
Because there is no right track.
Lately home builders have been bombarded with the eco-anxiety marketing that wishes they would just buy more gadgets. This latest shit will definitely be the one that saves the day. And then I will be able to finally build this house and live in it and lead my normal life just as before without this dreadful guilt they've been hammering on about everywhere. Cause we're frankly all sick of R values and consumption charts and footprint calculators.
We all just simply want to get on with our lives, the way we thought we would live our lives when we were young. We didn't ask for this.
Yet in the face of the world burning, we each take action. In our own way.
Some people blindly go on. Others start a rebellion movement. Others still, blame the government.
The people at "Hameaux Legers" (for whom I did the webinar) take it upon themselves to lead a life of least harm. To find ways of mixing our needs with the Earths'. To redefine what a house means.
A reversible habitat is one that has little to no impact by the end of it's life. Their main strategies for this are:
- build very small
- build deconstructable
- build compostable
- build light
- build to move
- build to last
There are economical points of view when choosing to build as small as these people are. And there are discussion to be had about what small means to comfort of both body and spirit.
But what I found through this webinar's questions was that building small takes out a lot of the anxiety of making the right choice. Because it's not as enormous a project, and not nearly as costly, as a standard house, fun is to be had more easily.
Then something magical happens, sometimes. Poetry.
Going one way because we feel it. Whims and fancies. Not just for their own sake, but because the spirit of the place dictates in mysterious ways and we have the openness to listen.
Listening to the place is the first step. And that's why I wrote "Listen to Your Land".
Listening to the future house's spirit is where the fun begins!
So I am going to start writing a second handbook soon. It will be called "The smallish book on smallish homes". I declare my intentions to you so that you keep me on the hook:)
As always,
Jo
PS Why is it that every time I search “Bioclimatic“, I get pergolas?
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