Hello from Virginia…..
We have been blessed with a lot of projects so far this year, up and down the Atlantic seaboard from Maine to Florida. It fascinates me that quite a number of clients are building family legacy compounds where they want to gather their loved ones for generations to come…either on land they just bought to do so or on a family parcel where they used to camp. Attached are renderings of the projects underway as well as numerous construction photos of what we have the privilege to realize with them.
The fact that such a high proportion of these homes are specifically to gather large, extended families gives me considerable food for thought. It seems to me that there is a yearning for a sense of place and belonging–a dwelling if you will–designed to welcome and gather large swaths of family and friends in spaces big and comfortable enough to accommodate multiple generations. Seeing what we have built over the past couple years and accelerating even more so now in Virginia, Florida, Vermont, New Jersey, Georgia, Massachusetts and even Italy–there is no question this is a crescent trend.
Why is this happening–and is there also some inherent synergy with our buildings that has impelled these projects to move from longings to planning and construction?
I think so…for (perhaps?) some of the following reasons…
–We live in an incredibly fast paced age with constant change, motion, political upheaval, fast food and internet instability….which correspondingly creates a yearning for a more measured pace, fewer devices, leisure time with loved ones–and the fact is we need designated spaces to do so.
–As a country–along with many others–the demographics have increasingly been moving from rural to urban, grass to concrete and forests to cityscapes. Small villages are losing their populations to cities, and with this also a loss of being in touch with nature. There is something about barns that realizes a longing to be in touch with the earth, the outdoors, nature without noise…to rest more and strive less. As I have spent more and more time in Italy at our family compound, I have commented often how much more relaxed I am there, where the midday family meal is still sacrosanct instead of an inconvenience interfering with omnipresent work.
–The cost of living and especially healthcare has risen so precipitously that we are being forced to look more locally and within our immediate circles of friends and families to care for each other. Many municipalities are changing their zoning regulations to permit accessory dwelling units (ADU’s) in our back yards, enabling us to care for aging parents as well as house children who have not yet left the nest.
–Most of all–in our increasingly fraught world-we are longing for connection with those whom we love, and finding or building a place to accomplish that seems to be a logical extension of that God given yearning for relationship. I cannot tell you how many times I have heard a client tell me that they simply want to build a place their children/grandchildren/family long to come to….and yes…stay while.
As far how this applies to Geobarns–building warm, beautiful structures with open floor plans designed to foster gatherings–seems a logical fit, not to mention our commitment to stewarding precious land that at times has been or is intended to be in the family for generations past or to come.
I think about this a lot and realize we are just as grateful to become a part of a family’s story as we are to be able to earn a living building their home…such a privilege.
Thanks to all of you–and right now especially those who have entrusted us with their long sought dreams.
george
