woensdag 3 oktober 2018

(II) Stadera





Chapter VI

The project (house) now has a name, to make it tangible. When staying in Hans' place I found very old weighing scales. In Italian: 

stadera
[sta-dè-ra]
s.f.

Bilancia formata da un'asta metallica graduata su cui scorre un peso costante, da un gancio per il quale deve essere tenuta al momento della pesata e da un piatto, appeso a un'estremità dell'asta, in cui va posto l'oggetto da pesare

One day *this* one will be in or at the house!




Chapter VII

A LOT has happened in the past few months, not all of it (yet) for publication. MANY of my previous premises & statements are now a thing of the past; up for discussion, re-evaluation, even an 180° about face!

Am I too old to build a house? Well....  Maybe I am not able to do the most physically demanding labor any more, that's true. However, building methods have evolved! 

Restoring an old ruin? Well.... Somehow maintaining and/or re-purposing that ruin might have been an option in my mind before..... like making it save & stable and use it to create a secluded patio?! I sure thought about that! And still do! 

But a place in the middle of nowhere? A small place, just for holiday purposes? NOT planning to live there (semi-)permanently? All these thoughts are now history: gone. 

For instance, I recently saw an advertisement listing an apartment for sale, that was located less than 750 meters from Arcidosso town center, less than 500 meters from 2 major supermarkets, less than 500 meters from the regional bus station, less than 1000 meters from the banks and ATM's, pharmacy, hardware shops, electronic shops etc etc....  It was sooo not what I was looking for.... yet it was sooo practical for all these reasons that I just had to consider the practicality of such a place versus "In the middle of nowhere"!

However, I have not yet decided for (or against) either choice, it just has opened my mind, broadened my search parameters! 

One thing that is - for now! - firmly set in my mind it this: I want to commission / build a new house, rather than buying and adapting / converting an old one! My firm goal is a place that is energy-neutral or even energy-positive. To achieve that with an old(er) building is way too expensive & complicated.... though not impossible, mind you!

I am a huge fan of all things bamboo; my living room floor is bamboo and I would like to invest in more bamboo stuff, but it has to be practical to do so.

Let me show you an example of the beauty of bamboo:
  
   


Alas, realistically, I cannot hope to have such a place! My plans are much more practical: 

But even if things like; 1 or 2 floors, 1, 2 or more bedrooms, size, heating method(s), budget... well, just about everything is up in the air, I DO know I want to use bamboo, where it's practical. Floors, doors, stairs if any, decks, shutters and window frames... the possibilities are there. So is the technology and, hopefully, the availability! Fortunately the PopUp people cater to individual's tastes' and wishes!


…  I just LOVE brooding on the potential, the work, the challenges, the headaches, the possible solutions, every last bit of it! 

To be continued!!

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