Green Building: Going…Going…Green!

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The entry to the Living Court is defined by a "gateway" - a trellis or some shrubbery. This psychological gateway clearly defines the transition from the public sidewalk and street to the semi-public Living Court. It is a very effective passageway and transition. Strangers do not feel comfortable entering it unless they have business there because they know they are on someone else's turf and they are probably being watched. Almost unbelievably, in this day and age, some of our homeowners feel so safe and secure that they often leave their doors unlocked.

The wide 5-foot sidewalk functions as the "main street" of the Living Court and as a "kids street." In most other condominium developments, this main sidewalk is only 3' wide which is so narrow that 2 people cannot walk side-by-side - nor can kids pass each other on their trikes and bikes. The front door of each home is highly visible from this sidewalk, and the sidewalk is highly visible from several rooms in every home. This makes the entire Living Court much safer and more secure.

Maximum visual access to the Living Court from inside the house is crucial to casual surveillance and spontaneous neighborliness. Most Living Court homes have a living room and dining area with large windows overlooking the Living Court. In most homes the Owner's Suite also overlooks the Living Court. Finally and even more importantly, most homes have an "interior window" over the kitchen sink that looks across the dining area or living room out through large windows into the Living Court.

Outside the front entry is the semi-private garden patio or porch. This quick access to the front garden patio makes it easy to "pop in and out" many times a day. The semi-private seating area on the garden patio or porch increases opportunities for casual, spontaneous socializing. On nice evenings people relax for hours in this comfortable place as they enjoy nature and just watch the world go by. A study of courtyard homes has found that when there is a comfortable garden patio or porch in the front on the courtyard, people will spend more than two-thirds of their outdoor time there - and they will more than double the amount of time they spend outdoors.

Unlike some townhouses and other condominiums, every HomeTown home has a rear yard or a side yard. You can make the yard as private as you want by installing a 6' fence. Most of the yards are enclosed by garages on two sides and the house to the rear is about 70' away, so there is almost complete visual privacy. Because the yard has walls on all sides, it feels like an intimate outdoor room and it lives like an extension of the house inside.

These yards have a wonderful feeling that combines intimacy, nature, security, animal life, plants, dining, and flowers that is rarely found in outdoor spaces today.

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