RESIDENCE: 1.0 The Program v. The Car

We started thinking about the residence.  My wife has the questionnaire I generally publish for a new client when beginning a project...it is thorough.

Among the initial thoughts and criteria are cost (of course) which then gets to size of home (SF) and other issues like one story or two (we ain't gettin' any younger!)...views, relationship of inside to outside, entry...etc.

There was one statement that I thought was particularly interesting in the discussion.  When we started discussing an area for vehicles my wife exhibited some rather strong disdain for having to dedicate space to "cars".  The question was essentially...why do we create so much space for cars?  Why do we create huge doors for cars?  Why shouldn't cars be off to the side somewhere so we can focus on the important elements...the places where we live?

Pretty good questions!

So we will explore the question.

Our particular site affords us some interesting options in that we have two ways to get into the site, plenty of parking, and don't necessarily need a garage. 

It is, however, nice to have a space that is protected from the howling gales and blizzards which we do get in these parts, and it is not a whole lot of fun to schlep groceries into the house in a raging snow or rain storm.  That having been said...why pay such homage to something that is really a functional item, not necessarily aesthetic.  (Not that a Porsche is not an aesthetic masterpiece...it is...I don't own one though, so don't plan to exhibit my vehicle as such.)

One thought that came to the table that I thought was also interesting and it was the thought of working to integrate the interior space with the outdoor space to encourage a gracefull flow between indoor and outdoor spaces to promote outdoor living.  Our site is a natural for this concept.

Gardening, outdoor eating, separation of studio, guest and living spaces, garage art spaces...all work as a total outdoor complex.

On a side note:
The tarps come off the trailer this weekend and the walls start coming down...time to fill the dumpster.