Concept for a 500 YEAR TOWN : TOO Futuristic? TOO DIFFERENT? OR THE BEST CHOICE?
Most of the wonderful villages of the world and the great hill towns of Italy and Spain are more than 500 years old. We should realize that what we build on the land today will affect the future for centuries. Some may scoff at that thought, simply because we, as a country, are so very young. However, our developments can no longer afford to be short sighted; --the potential of certain larger properties could be lost forever. Longer-term objectives will encourage a different orientation in our thinking and we will develop higher quality solutions.
We need to stretch our imaginations to consider new spatial arrangements and combinations -- features that are now possible for the first time combined with the best of historically tested concepts.
Future demand for housing and farmland will continue to grow. New technologies will reduce our dependence on the automobile for daily needs. Then, people and quality of life can be the primary focus of village designs, rather than traditional streets. Privacy for each "home site" can be better achieved by solid sound barriers. Properly done, this can give nearly complete design freedom for individual property owners. A completely private two-story "home site" can be easily remodeled, even add a grandma unit or have a home business without affecting the neighborhood. Many zoning controls may no longer be necessary; --this provides the flexibility needed for generations far into the future. Individual home cost will be similar to those in conventional developments. The first phase could be a retirement community or a world-class resort, which over time expands to become a town.
Want to Stop Sprawl? Offer a Better Choice
Twenty-five years ago when I tried to explain that tract housing was not creating ideal, workable communities, it was difficult to attract interest. Thats when I began my search for better solutions. I had the belief our cities should strive to be as inspiring as the worlds greatest buildings and villages, --also as beautiful as walking in the Sierras next to great rock structures and towering pine trees.
Today the battle cry is "Stop Sprawl." My feeling is, if you want to stop sprawl --offer choices with significantly improved features that excite and attract buyers away from conventional developments.
Other currently proposed solutions are very important, necessary, fit in certain locations and improve upon our existing thinking: --our dedication to street patterns, zoning ordinance controls and construction approaches that appeal to conventional builder/developers. But should these be our only options and are they actually the best we can do with all that is known today?
Who will be the HomeBuyer in such a New Town Concept?
This concept proposes to attract the mid-price-range tract house buyer. Today this buyer is offered a house with a front yard on a street, usually with parked cars, probably a two-story house, and typical side fences with windows of neighboring houses overlooking each side; the back view is the back wall of the house beyond the back fence. Neighboring houses look over the fences on every side.
The first "better choice" is to eliminate the back fence and replace it with a beautiful view of open space. On each side the neighbors windows are eliminated and privacy is provided by a two-story solid sound and visual barrier, extending from the front of the house to just beyond the back wall, then sloping down to six feet high at the back edge of the yard. This creates a completely private home site and private back yard. What is under the yard cannot be seen, so its possible to stair-stack the home sites. The buyer can choose a park-level home site or an upper-level site with great views as if from a hillside. The interior of the home can have any floor plan and can be easily altered in a few days to meet changing needs. There is a direct elevator to a private two-car garage on a lower level.
Now imagine walking through to the front of the home. From the front rooms and the front porch you can see a group of neighboring homes clustered around three sides of a secure and beautifully landscaped play area. This is similar to being part of the famous hanging gardens. The play area and all the homes overlook the main street beyond, with its shops and sidewalk cafes. On this main street, everything is within a short walk. This concept can have the charm of a great old-world village with the advantages of the finest world-class resort; but remember --this is a complete up-to-date community that includes your home. A Techno-Village for our time and future times. The people at the sidewalk cafes are your neighbors --people you know. And equally important, your back yard is a retreat similar to being on a tree-covered hillside far away in the country...with complete privacy.
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L. Gene Zellmer 1998
Above is a photo of a model, a top view of 3 clusters of housing on each side of the main street. The street width would increase as desired. The play area is seen next to the openings providing light to the 1st and 2nd level clusters play areas. This is the basic pair of modules that are repeated many times to create the entire town. If you look closely in the areial view of the site the this basic pattern can be seen.
Below is the model showing the appearance of a hillside covered with trees. The trees are in the backyard of each home site. They nearly hide the structure. The openings are the areas provided for the swimming pools. They could be open or enclosed.
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LINKS
Please feel free to submit critique and comments about this concept to the following e-mail. If you would like more information please E-mail Gene Zellmer at:
gzellmer@redshift.com
If you are interested in other building concepts, you may enjoy the following web site which is being developed. Inquire at the e-mail above. This site is to contain work on the following areas:
-The worlds first applications of fabric structures on a Church, a Department Store, an Office Building and a Residence.
-Techniques for below grade construction at cost much lower than above or below grade conventional construction.
-Wall materials and treatment of below grade walls with interesting and dramatic appearance.
-Other unique design solutions for plumbing, air distribution, ceilings systems, and 1964 unique glass installations using the first applications of silicone rubber as the complete system for attachemnt and as hinges.
L. Gene Zellmer, Architecture Planning Research Development
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