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August 28, 2005
Common House Design Workshop
On August 7th we had our Common House Design Workshop. This was a weekend long event (kicked off by the slideshow) where all Mosaic folks would make the decisions governing how our common house should be designed. The goal of this workshop was not to come away with a blueprint, but more a set of guidelines our architects, Mary and Laura could use to design the building that is to be the centerpiece of our community.
The workshop went very well, with the group deciding what rooms we wanted and what rooms we either couldn't afford or just didn't have a strong need for. Part of the challenge was it appears our site will not allow a basement due to ledge very close to the surface, so that really limits the amount of 'extra space' we'll have. We had that information for the workshop, and it helped us guide our processes.
As always, Mary and Laura did a great job working us through tricky questions of size, access, facilities, costs, and priorities. I believe the design we came up with in the end was a fantastic example of the consensus process in action, as we worked through each challenge. We made a lot of important decisions during those two days, and we're all looking forward to the sets of designs that Mary and Laura come back to us with.
Posted by dbs in Status reports at 2:42 AM
August 3, 2005
Slideshow this Friday - focus on Common House Design
Mosaic Cohousing is sponsoring a slide show and presentation on cohousing at First Parish Church in Berlin Center on this Friday, August 5, 7:00-9:00 pm. Child care will be provided.
This will be an excellent opportunity to introduce people to the concept of cohousing and for interested people to get to know the Mosaic community. In addition to general information and slides on cohousing, there will be many slides on common houses in cohousing communities.
To reach First Parish from Rt 495, take exit 26 onto Rt.62 going west, toward Berlin. The church is on Rt 62, in the center of town, about 1.5 mi. west of Rt 495. Parking is along the triangle surrounding the church.
Posted by dbs in Random goings on at 9:42 PM
August 2, 2005
Picnic on our land!
On July 24th we all got together on our land in Berlin to have a picnic and to allow some folks their first look at the site in general. I had gone up the week before with the tractor as the fields were quite overgrown with late summer grass.
Despite the hot weather, we set up several sunshades and the kids had a grand time playing frisbee and exploring the trails. Beezy took those interested on a long trail hike around the edges of the property, while many others decided to walk the trails on their own, or just sit and socialize in the cool shade.
It was a great introduction to our land and what will be our new home.
Posted by dbs in Random goings on at 12:23 PM