Design Elements: China random

Roof corner of imperial building in Forbidden City (Beijing)

These are some very random images from a recent trip to China.

Forbidden City (Beijing)

IBM tower (Beijing)

Long Corridor, Summer Palace (Beijing)

Long Corridor, Summer Palace (Beijing)

Summer Palace (Beijing)

Beijing

Xi'an

Door hinge (Hangzhou)

Dragon wall, Yu Garden (Shanghai)

Jing'an Temple (Shanghai)

Jing'an Temple (Shanghai)

Shibaozhai Pagoda (Zhong County)

Shibaozhai Pagoda (Zhong County)

3-wheeler in Yangshuo

Hong Kong Island

Housing in China

Fengjing (Shanghai)

Recently I had the good fortune to spend three weeks on a tour through China with my dad. It was a spectacular trip that included a wide variety of sites in and around six cities as well as a four-day cruise on the Yangtze. The history and culture are fascinating, and we enjoyed many marvels such as the Forbidden City, Great Wall, Terracotta Army and Three Gorges Dam. It's also interesting to see how China deals with housing given the enormous numbers of people living in even "small" cities.

One of the advantages of utilizing a tour company for a trip like this is you get to see and experience a great deal in a relatively short time period. Another advantage is the interesting "cultural connections" where we could meet local residents in their own homes, which were often comprised of just two or three small rooms. To be sure, many of these people were older and retired which, of course, gives them time to entertain inquisitive Americans. They seem generally happy with their homes because they are part of long-standing, tightly-woven communities. Many others, however, live in high rise apartment towers (a seemingly infinite number of which are currently being built) which provide more space and modern conveniences, but also sacrifice some of the community aspects. Many of the younger people with whom we spoke lived in these apartments with three or more generations of their family.

Of course, China is a very large and varied country, and I would expect to see different housing solutions in different regions. In the city of Hangzhou with its idyllic West Lake, we saw many multi-story, detached homes. After visiting a tea farm in the area, we had lunch with a farmer's family in one of these homes. The farmer indicated that he, like many others in the region, lived on one floor with his family and rented out the rooms on the floor above them. Whether it's an older two-room home in a village, an apartment in a ubiquitous high rise, or a multi-story home in prosperous Hangzhou, very little space is unused and idle in the Chinese home.

Fengjing

Beijing hutong

Xi'an: Just a few of the many high rise buildings under construction

Yangtze River: Three Gorges Dam forced many locals to relocate to apartments on higher ground

Smiling residents in Fengjing

Tough call for Drakes Bay Oyster Company

Drakes Estero

Yesterday the U.S. Department of the Interior informed the Drakes Bay Oyster Company that it would direct the National Park Service (NPS) to not extend its lease to harvest shellfish in Drakes Estero, part of Point Reyes National Seashore. The Park Service wants to turn Drakes Estero, which is indeed very beautiful and biodiverse, into a marine wilderness. While I'm in favor of a federally-protected marine wilderness, I'm disappointed a compromise could not be reached.

The company has been operating for nearly 80 years and employs 30 people with seven families living on the property. While the Pacific oysters they raise are non-native, they are, like all oysters, filter feeders who remove pollutants and improve water quality. Ironically, Ken Salazar, Secretary of the Interior, wants the NPS to give dairy farms at Point Reyes multi-year lease extensions. While these farms are also historic, their environmental impact is certainly greater than the oyster farm's. Unfortunately, the oyster farm environmental impact statement utilized NPS reports which, according to the National Academy of Sciences, were flawed and biased. The Park Service does many great things for which I am very grateful, but it appears in this instance they may have acted in a heavy-handed manner.

Maybe I'm naive, but it seems like one compromise might have been a restriction of only native oysters and non-motorized boats in Drakes Estero. This very well might be unacceptable to Drakes Bay Oyster Company, but at least it would give them an option instead of being forced to move out in 90 days.

Ella and Little Yellow

Little Yellow with Ella securing the stairs

I really enjoy meeting other "tiny home people" not just because of the obvious shared interests, but also because they are frequently interesting, engaging individuals who build tiny homes at least in part because it enables them to focus on other interests. Ella is no exception. She studied in Scotland, plays the harp, and recently built, with limited carpentry skills, a tiny home she calls Little Yellow. She also maintains a very interesting blog which chronicles the build. Earlier this month she moved Little Yellow from Southern to Northern California and stopped at a couple of spots on route for brief open houses. It was great to see her home in Soquel and to chat with Ella as well as others. The exterior is essentially a Tumbleweed Fencl, but the interior is customized. There were a number of aspects I particularly liked including:

• Use of natural wood. The first thing you notice is the interesting branch that serves as the corner post (purely aesthetic) near the door. The interior also features natural wood in places such as the coat rack and bench legs.
• The kitchen counter, which she had done professionally, is spectacular. The interesting grain patterns and natural, biomorphic edge turn a kitchen counter into an objet d'art. I definitely see the merits of having a professional complete certain focal aspects of a tiny home.
• Custom trim work. Ella cut attractive designs in the trim which seem to automatically draw the eyes.
• The shower is a converted livestock trough: significantly less expensive with more character than a traditional shower. I assume it also can be used as an old-school bathtub.

The loft is a traditional Fencl loft and I remain convinced that such a loft is simply too small for me. At the risk of sounding like some sort of tiny home prima donna, I'll require both a loft skylight as well as an alternative roof design in my tiny home.

In Soquel several people asked Ella what she was selling or which company she represented. She indicated she wasn't selling anything and she scheduled open houses simply because she knew many people were interested in tiny homes. I'm certain I'm not the only one who is both grateful and inspired.

Beautiful kitchen counter

Livestock trough becomes shower

Traditional Fencl loft

Natural wood, custom trim

Tiny mobile home at Fleet Week

Last week San Francisco hosted Fleet Week, an annual event where military ships dock in the Bay and different branches of the military demonstrate their wares. This mobile unit displayed on Marina Green immediately caught my eye. Unfortunately, they weren't permitting tours at the time. Nonetheless, I particularly like the open-air design and integrated jack stands.

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass

Ralph Stanley and The Clinch Mountain Boys play the Banjo Stage last Sunday

If you live in the SF Bay Area you are probably familiar with Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, the 3-day, multi-stage, free music festival in Golden Gate Park. Many locals avoid it because of the enormous crowds, but I'm still a devout fan. The HSB lineup (list of scheduled musicians) is always amazing and there are frequently difficult decisions with six different stages. The musicians themselves generally seem happy to be there and often play together in impromptu, sometimes unusual, combinations. The positive energy extends to the crowds where people generally are unusually polite and friendly given the mass of humanity.

While this year was no different, the festival was also melancholic as Warren Hellman, the founding partron of HSB, died last year and this is the first festival without him. Hellman was a successful private equity financier, as well as a philanthropist and banjo player. Even if you had never heard of him before last weekend, it was clearly evident from the frequency and sincerity of the many heartfelt tributes throughout the weekend that Hellman was the heart and soul of HSB. But his spirit continues, and so does HSB which Hellman funded well into the future so the festival will not require commercial support (which would profoundly alter HSB). Appropriately, the meadow where the HSB stages are built each year has been officially renamed "Hellman Hollow."

There were several tiny mobile homes in attendance

Emmylou Harris, as she does every year, closing show with help from some friends

Hellman Hollow

Design Elements: Bike racks

Who says bike racks have to be boring?

Olympic Peninsula & backpacking takeaways

Every year I take an extended hiking trip somewhere in the backwoods with a few friends from the Bay Area. This year, after a fair amount of planning, we spent a couple of weeks in August on the Olympic Peninsula (WA). Expectations were high, yet they were still exceeded by the region's profound beauty and amazing diversity. Most of the time was spent in Olympic National Park including the Seven Lakes Basin area, Hoh Rain Forest and the rugged coast north of Rialto Beach. We also spent some time in Port Townsend, a friendly little maritime community, and briefly stopped at the recently removed Elwha Dam, reportedly the largest dam removal in the world to date.

In the interest of continuous improvement, it can be useful after an extended backpacking adventure like this to consider takeaways or lessons learned. A few of the more salient takeaways from Olympic Peninsula include:

1. Effective and redundant water purification systems
Water from crystal clear alpine lakes in the Olympic Mountains is probably fine, but I prefer to purify all my water anyway because it should be a relatively simple process which ensures I won't be sick later. Unfortunately, my Katadyn Hiker water filter, only a few years old, broke on the first backpacking day. The plastic that secures the intake hose snapped off. We had iodine tablets, but a ranger had warned us that iodine was ineffective against Cryptosporidium which could be a risk when we got to the coast. We were able to purify water with my Katadyn by placing the entire thing in a small pot instead of using the intake hose, but the lack of a pre-filter caused the entire system to become clogged. Towards the end of the trip dirt was getting through the system and we started boiling our water. Must find something better...

2. Realistic planning; maximize day hiking
There is much to see in Olympic Peninsula and we planned an overly ambitious trip with many different campsites. After an arduous Day 3 we were all so exhausted we needed to modify the plan in order to recover before donning enormous backpacks again. Fortunately, we found an accommodating ranger. Obviously, it's much easier to hike with a small day pack rather than your full backpack, and we might have actually covered more ground with fewer campsites and more day hiking. Day hiking also enables each individual to choose what to do on any given day while still remaining part of the group.

3. Minimize car camping
We modified our plans, but still wanted to see the Hoh Rain Forest, so we decided to car camp near the Hoh River trailhead. Backpacking allows you to enjoy nature in the absence of people and vehicles, but car camping generally does no such thing. After eventually driving to the coast and realizing we couldn't make much progress hiking up the coast before dark, we lamented having to car camp another night. However, we discovered a mile-long gravel bar in the Quillayute River which was an ideal spot to pitch our tents for the night before starting the trek up the coast the next day.

Coastline campsite

Rustic pit toilet with spectacular view

Kukri looking for work...

A few weeks ago I was gathering wood while camping when I decided I really needed a good hatchet that could fit in my backpack. After a little research I realized I wanted something that could also clear brush. I finally settled on a Nepalese machete-like knife called a kukri:

While the kukri is often considered a weapon (utilized by the Nepalese Army and Gurkha units in the British and Indian armies), it is also a very effective tool for a wide range of chopping and cutting tasks. However, at ~2 pounds it's probably too heavy for extended backpacking trips. There will be plenty of work once I'm living in a tiny home outside the city, but while I'm still living in SF there are limited opportunities to give the kukri a good workout. So, if you live in the SF Bay area and need some help chopping or clearing my kukri and I will happily assist...

Sea Ranch Chapel

Last week I had the good fortune to spend a few days with friends in Sea Ranch, a Sonoma County planned community known for its dramatic coastline, secluded beaches, as well as its characteristic architecture. A design review process ensures that homes don't dominate the beautiful natural landscape. While the homes certainly aren't cookie-cutter replicas, they do share key characteristics including unpainted wood siding/shingles, and many large windows that bring the landscape and natural light into the home and often help form comfortable interior nooks which are ideal for reading or napping.

One of the most intriguing structures is the Sea Ranch Chapel. This small non-denominational sanctuary, which resembles a hat with a feather protruding from the top, was completed in 1985 and is open to the public. Local materials such as redwood, stones and seashells help ground the chapel in the surrounding environment. The small size creates a very intimate interior where magnificent stained glass windows admit light from different angles and cast exquisite light patterns on the stone floor and redwood seating. The Sea Ranch Chapel, which is also frequently empty and very quiet, is not only something to behold, but is also highly conducive to personal reflection.

 Redwood seats and floral mosaic

Local materials including redwood, stones and seashells (abalone shell pictured here) are utilized in both chapel interior and exterior

Prie-dieu (prayer desk) with embedded shells and wrought iron prayer screen

Ostrea lurida, how we miss thee!

Native West Coast oysters known as Olympia oysters (Ostrea lurida) could once be found in great abundance from Alaska to Mexico and were a key food source for Native Americans and early settlers. While they may still appear today, the Olympia oyster is "functionally extinct" according to a recent San Francisco Chronicle article. The oysters we occasionally enjoy these days are actually farm-raised Japanese Pacific oysters. Personally, I love oysters and can only imagine, with envy, a day when they were a local staple found throughout SF Bay. However, personal taste and diet are trivial compared to the profound impact the demise of the native Olympia oyster has on the ecosystems of SF Bay and other areas. Olympia Oyster beds provide critical habitat for small fish, crabs, anemones, and other marine life. In addition, as a bivalve they are filter feeders who each clean gallons per day of pollutants. It's difficult to envision, but when Olympia oyster beds were found throughout SF Bay, residents regularly ate oysters and the Bay itself would have been significantly cleaner, more biodiverse, and literally teeming with marine life.

Sidebar: The Olympia oyster's taxonomy can be confusing. Ostrea lurida and Ostreola conchaphila are often considered to be synonymous. However, a 2009 study published in the Journal of Shellfish Research provides molecular evidence that they are indeed distinct species.

Why is it so difficult to get a tiny mortgage?

Obtaining a mortgage of less than US$50,000 for a tiny home or even a refinanced "traditional" home is a challenge. This interesting Business Insider article indicates that banks simply don't make enough profit compared to the the interest they reap over a couple of decades on mortgages of a couple hundred thousand dollars. Fortunately, there are alternatives such as local banks or credit unions where you have an established relationship, personal loans from friends or family, or the relatively new phenomenon of peer-to-peer (person-to-person) lending on sites such as Prosper.com and LendingClub.com.

Design Elements: Barn motif

I really like the barn motif on this Mission District garage. It may serve some industrial purpose, but more than likely it's more aesthetic than functional. Either way, it adds character to the neighborhood.

Model community land trust: Lake Claire

 

While I've visited the Lake Claire Community Land Trust in Atlanta, Georgia before, recently I had time for a more comprehensive tour of this amazing community landmark. LCCLT was created more than 25 years ago when community members purchased land from MARTA (Atlanta's public transit system) and cleared out garbage and kudzu. Since then it's been transformed into a vibrant community center for people living on the land itself, as well as neighbors and people throughout Atlanta. It includes a wide variety of structures, as well as fish ponds, gardens and orchards. Despite its central location in the heart of Atlanta, one can find plenty of resident and visiting wildlife at LCCLT (recognized as a wildlife sanctuary). This land trust is closely integrated with and actively utilized by the immediate community, and it's not always obvious where its land ends and neighbors' property begins. There are many different events for every member of the community including picnics, birthday parties, drum circles, yoga instruction, after-school programs, etc. My friends live one block away and frequently visit the land trust and attend events both with and without their two young children, as do other friends living outside the neighborhood.

Lake Claire Community Land Trust is a reflection and integral part of the immediate community as well as the surrounding communities and this is what makes it such a great model for other communities. It's an infinitely repeatable formula: active community involvement ensures the space remains a safe, friendly center for learning, interacting, celebrating, etc. and it eventually becomes a beloved point of pride for the neighborhood. Rather than depressing neighboring home values as abandoned land, effective community land trusts can help build strong communities making neighborhoods more appealing to potential home buyers. Not surprisingly Lake Claire has become one of Atlanta's most desirable neighborhoods.

Community gardens bordered by a primary thoroughfare (Dekalb Ave) and MARTA tracks

Stage, fire pit and amphitheater

 There are several tiny homes, as well as a variety of larger structures

 Community sweat lodge

 Longtime resident Big Lou the Emu