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The New Independent Home
by Michael Potts
from chapter 7 :
Putting the Car Before the House |
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Our culture has brought its infatuation with automobiles all the way home by putting the car before the house. Houses are oriented for the convenience of street and driveway rather than for the best relationship to sun and land. By connecting garage and living space, we further distance ourselves from nature, as if we were inhabiting a hostile planet where survival is possible only if we never leave the protection of house, car, office building, and shopping mall. In many independent homes, this unholy connection is severed. The vehicles (and all their drips and smells) are parked at a conspicuous distance from the dwelling's environs. At Frank Dolan's home, which doubles as the parrot hospital, cars are parked a quarter mile away, because they upset the birds. Years ago, I elected to build my home one hundred meters from the street, because I wanted to preserve the greenery and minimize hardscape near the house, so I could eat, work, and sleep well away from the noise and smell of autos. I expected my guests to be inconvenienced, and laid a lighted walkway to guide them home, but I have been gratified to hear them comment that the short walk gives them a chance to compose themselves and enjoy the garden and ocean view as they approach. An unexpected and beneficial effect is that we plan our shopping with a bit more care, and travel with fewer bags, because we consider the distance from house to car as we pack or purchase. We, too, appreciate the insulation between our home and the bustle a hundred meters away. Ungainly, necessary items come in by wheelbarrow, and in summer the house may be (but seldom is) approached across the meadow by car or truck for major deliveries. Vehicles and the home are uneasy partners, and a little separation works well for families.
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