I got distracted by trying to work with a different shape & smaller size, but it dawned on me slowly that my most recent one was the model to copy: it was a Goldilocks Hut.
The size and proportions feel just right; to heat, & occupy without feeling crowded by my lifestyle, and its 12-sided shape seems future-perfect to embrace porches either for solar gain, an outdoor sink, to shed wet gear in, or to harbour dry firewood. Twelve sided structures can embrace hexagons, squares and triangles without rancour.
I have shared small roundhouses with no partitioning, apart from Inside, for living, cooking & sleeping, and an outdoor porch, for watery & messier activities, but try to recognise three equal spaces since then, for bed-space, clear space, and cooking.
A sink is a bit outdoor for me, though in my goldilocks hut, I can reach out to it from the kitchen in my socks if its raining.
My personal washing is an indoor ritual of boiling a great kettle, a big basin & a blazing fire. Also, my son bought me a solar shower for Christmas which will add another dimension to the end of a sunny day.
The outdoor area is a key part of the living space. If it's a deck or a sheltered yard, I think it should be the same area as the indoor space. - Part of living in a small structure is to spend much more time in the open air.
A trip to the compost toilet is a great way to see the stars, or appreciate the cosy indoors after a venture into a wild night...
Our current houses are designed to withstand extreme human and weather onslaughts, much like wearing a flack jacket and a heavy overcoat in July.
They adopt a paranoid and hostile stance, always expecting the worst. Negative attitudes are infectious and quietly leak through the locks and alarms into their occupants.
Here I crouch in front of my laptop, like millions of others gazing at screens in their self-contained bunker homes, watching images of the world's worst mishaps.
We are what we occupy!
Noticing how pine cones, even long separated from their host tree, open in fine weather, I have long-wondered that we can't make walls that expand to allow balmy Spring air into our homes. Surely our houses should be able to open and celebrate the sun when it shines.
I am asking a lot...
Living structures that are deliberately impermanent/replaceable/repairable & affordable.
Somehow we need to divest them of accumulating value as "property".
That are modest in size, have an integrated outdoor space, and are not overly obtrusive. This is so they accord with their surroundings.
That can respond to the moods of the seasons and the weather. This too should help diminish our 'bunker' attitude to our shelters.
But it's all simple stuff!
