Yes, Virginia!
This morning we toured a gorgeous passive solar house in the Arcadia co-housing community on the northern edge of Carrboro. It was so beautiful! And it had all the elements of good design and planning and appropriate techonology use that I thought people only talked about. Can you believe it? Yes, there really is good home design out there! If you want to see it, here's the link: http://www.teamjodi.com/MyHomeDtl.asp?lstPages=2&HomeID=194166
Expansive windows on the south side have overhangs that are angled so that after the June solstice the sun dowsn't beat into the house anymore (duh!) but in Fall-Spring, the sun comes in and warms the thermal tile floors, which also have radiant heat pipes under them. The community was great, a stunning community house that smelled of a great dinner being prepared, garden plots and composting and an orchard and a playground and woods with a creek... And a consensus-based decision-making approach and resolution processes that really tie people into their neighborhood.
Hmmm.
posted by Anonymous @ 9:09 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
Well? Are you thinking of this as a possibility for you??
Lots of Cohousing is leading the way in energy efficiency, solar, and other innovative approaches... in part because of that consensus process that helps the community quickly identify core values and pursue solutions. Swan's Market Cohousing in Oakland, CA, is about to turn on its solar electric system... totally financed by outside investors for the CA tax credits. I justed visited Eastern Village in Silver Spring, MD, which may be the first owner-occupied Silver-certified Energy Star residential complex... 56 units in a rehabbed office building, 56 geothermal wells, green energy, bio roof absorbing carbon dioxide, bike parking, offsite pooled paid car parking, insulation, etc.
Raines
Berkeley (CA) Cohousing
paperboy, Cohousing Magazine
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