This was the early cohousing project that Julia was involved in before she moved to New Zealand. Designed by one of the founders, Heidrun Buhse, and completed in the early 1990s, it was state-of-the-art eco-building in its day, with compost toilets, grey water reed bed system, common heat and power, high levels of insulation and green roofs. Many of the high ecological standards employed in the buildings are now required for all buildings by the German government, so are no longer noteworthy, surely a matter to be proud of!
21 units are housed in 2 story buildings arranged along paths. Being now 16 years old, it has a well-established feel, with mature trees and paths lined with landscape retaining walls built of large carved stones from old buildings. The common house, as well as housing an anthroposophical kindergarten (although there are no pre-schoolers left in the community), has 2 community spaces, one only for community use and one which is also rented out to the wider community. There is no kitchen and no common dinners, and community interaction happens spontaneously between individual residents rather than as organised activities.
The array of photovoltaic panels generate much of the power for the community. The common heat and power plant is fired by gas and was new and experimental at the time, and the feeling now is that too much heat is lost by the pipes in the ground. The compost toilets in every house are also considered a problem, requiring ongoing care and maintenance, but the compost is still valued and used to replace the sandy soil lost from the green roofs. The grey water reed bed system has just had an overhaul after 16 years of successful water treatment, and should be good for another 16 years.
Although the community included a very high number of children in the early days, these have largely grown and left home, and residents are discussing the implications of becoming an aging community. I found it very interesting to see this cohousing community, not unlike Earthsong in its vision and design, but at a more mature stage of its life cycle. The shift in demographics will be an interesting challenge in the years ahead.
21 units are housed in 2 story buildings arranged along paths. Being now 16 years old, it has a well-established feel, with mature trees and paths lined with landscape retaining walls built of large carved stones from old buildings. The common house, as well as housing an anthroposophical kindergarten (although there are no pre-schoolers left in the community), has 2 community spaces, one only for community use and one which is also rented out to the wider community. There is no kitchen and no common dinners, and community interaction happens spontaneously between individual residents rather than as organised activities.
The array of photovoltaic panels generate much of the power for the community. The common heat and power plant is fired by gas and was new and experimental at the time, and the feeling now is that too much heat is lost by the pipes in the ground. The compost toilets in every house are also considered a problem, requiring ongoing care and maintenance, but the compost is still valued and used to replace the sandy soil lost from the green roofs. The grey water reed bed system has just had an overhaul after 16 years of successful water treatment, and should be good for another 16 years.
Although the community included a very high number of children in the early days, these have largely grown and left home, and residents are discussing the implications of becoming an aging community. I found it very interesting to see this cohousing community, not unlike Earthsong in its vision and design, but at a more mature stage of its life cycle. The shift in demographics will be an interesting challenge in the years ahead.
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