Lawn, Courtyard, and Paseo
Our last post talked about the creative thinking that led to our site plan. It gets us pretty excited, as you might have noticed. Yet the idea of homes surrounding a shared interior courtyard is hardly a novel one. This pattern has been replicated for millennia in various cultures all around the world. It can promote security, privacy, and access to nature, cross-ventilation, and light, even in a compact urban neighborhood. And the combination of landscaping, shade from the buildings, and air flows between the buildings can create a favorable microclimate. It’s just one example of old wisdom that was partly forgotten in our world of modern construction technology (what some refer to as “The Thermostat Age”). We want to tap into this older wisdom and pair it with the best of modern innovations.
Ultimately, what we can do is build a pleasing, functional, sustainable space. The real magic happens when people bring that space to life! So, let’s imagine what that might look like with our lawn, courtyard, and paseo…
Lawn:
You’ve been working all morning from your home office, and it was one too many virtual meetings. You decide to take a walk around the block to stretch your legs and clear your mind.
As you make your way around the north side, you come to the lawn. You notice your neighbor, Anne, and her two daughters, with their dog Coco, enjoying a shady spot.
You turn in toward the courtyard to pick up your mail. The three seem intent on their conversation and don’t look over. Coco’s eyes follow you as she slowly wags her tail.
Courtyard:
The courtyard is a bustle of activity when you arrive. You run into your friend Ravi who is also picking up his mail. You ask how his mother is doing. (She’s well.) The conversation then turns to his recent Yucatan trip. He tells you (with his typical enthusiasm) about serpent shadow patterns appearing on ancient pyramids.
Ravi then remembers what time it is and cuts his travelogue short. He’s off to a lunch meeting on Main Street.
You sit down with your two pieces of junk mail. Do you even open them, or just put them directly in recycling? No matter, it’s shade and shadows that have really got your attention. Ravi’s talk of serpent shadows reminded you of the changing patterns of courtyard shade you notice throughout the day, and over the course of this last year living here. The buildings and their interactions with the sun are perhaps like some Mayan temple or like Stonehenge. The more you think about it, the more convinced you are that one day, perhaps on the equinox, the light of sunrise will burst through the courtyard and strike some magical spot over by the Jean Street entrance.
Paseo: You resume your walk, heading back to the perimeter sidewalk and then looping around to the south. From there you encounter the grand paseo entrance to the courtyard. You almost can’t resist going down those broad steps (or maybe the long ramp), though you have no particular reason to go back to the courtyard now.
Ever since you moved in, you’ve had this idea to hire your favorite food truck, have them park in the paseo, and just let the neighborhood party develop naturally from there. You would string party lights back and forth over the paseo. Or better yet, you’d put the lights in paper lanterns – like those you fell in love with when you visited Nagoya, Japan so many years ago.
Maybe when you figure out what special day the sunrise light passes straight through the courtyard, that will be the day for your annual food truck and paper lantern celebration!
It’s time to get back home for a quick bite and some more work. As always, the walk did you some good. The stiffness is gone, your imagination is rekindled.