30-Day Post Occupancy Evaluation
One month ago today I moved out of my apartment and into the Starter Home 2.0 project I designed and developed, so it seems appropriate to take a bit of time in this post to reflect back on my first month in my new home, the lessons learned, and how it might influence my next and future Starter Home 2.0 projects.
- 30-day Takeaways from a first time Architect-Developer-Homeowner:
- Flexibility breeds comfort: Comfort isn't about having the softest bed or coziest chair, it's about having the flexibility to create an environment that can both adapt to and change your mood at any given time. By having the ability to tune the amount of natural light and ventilation in the house, and access to a variety of spatial and furniture arrangements to accommodate work, play and relaxation, I have always found comfort in the new home.
- Freedom = Happiness: There are few more soul-crushing experiences in day-to-day life than than being trapped in the jail cell on wheels that is a car stuck in rush hour traffic, so having developed a home where 95+% of my trips (job, gym, grocery store, church, etch) are within a 5-minute drive or walk of my house, it's hard not to be happy with where I'm at and the freedoms it affords me.
- More than buildings, architecture creates experiences and memories: For me, those experiences and memories have been waking up to a home flooded with natural light, opening the windows to feel the cooling breeze flow throughout the both floors of the house, and family conversations facilitated by the open plan where the kitchen, dining and living area are one.
All in all, I think things are off to a good start in the new house and that I might be onto something with this Starter Home 2.0 project.
