Rules for Feeling at Home
Originally Published on November 24, 2019
While traveling, I’ve tasked my free headspace with discovering the hidden algorithms (aka set of rules) that seem to govern the places that are both beautiful and in which I feel at home. Barcelona. Old downtowns in forgotten Midwestern cities. Alleys in Salt Lake City. Downtown Florence. The 15 hours of my life I’ve spent in London which clearly makes me an expert. Bilbao. Andersonville and Bucktown in Chicago.
Some of these are cribbed from people I follow on Twitter via osmosis, so not sure who gets credit for what. Apologies there, and if you see an idea from someone specifically happy to credit. I’ve seen Steve Mouzon, Leon Krier, @wrathofgnon, and Charles Mahron talk about a lot of these ideas.
- Backyards don’t exist or are minimal. Rooftops are more fun than backyards anyways.
- Minimal setbacks from the street. Encroaching right on the street. Old town Zionsville, IN is a great example of this. Get close to the people!
- Every retail establishment is mixed use. People live on top. Retail below.
- 1:4 or smaller ratio of large building that cover multiple zoned plots to smaller, single zoned lot buildings. This breaks up the surface of buildings at street level for pedestrians.
- Narrow Streets
- Minimum building height of 2 stories. You feel at home/enclosed without feeling trapped.
- Alleys. Alleys. Alleys.
- No garages in front, except for detached carriage houses on larger estates.
- Mixed-use buildings with a higher frequency of bars, including in residential areas
- Brick or stone, maybe wood, never vinyl or all glass exteriors.
- Brick industrial buildings for small scale manufacturing.
- Either a grid zone with smaller parcels, or a wavy, seemingly random streetscape with unexpected dead-ends
- Smaller parks more frequently are generally > monolithic parks.
- Trees shockingly close to and/or overhanging the street
- Lots of churches
- Buildings with symmetry and or what I call (foreground/background) composition, essentially a main portion of the home and a secondary portion. Not a typical McMansion’s stultifying mix of window styles, random arches, and garage doors.
- Fractals 🙂
- Flowers (especially roses) in front lawns and/or window boxes
- A canal, river, or stream with houses along it
- Tables on the sidewalk for people to eat/drink
- Either A) no street parking or B) 2:1 street parking to driving area
- Flags. Country/state/regional. In windows or next to front porches.
- Shopkeepers sweeping the walk in front of their place
I plan on updating this list as I pattern match over time, and adding pictures. Let’s Bring Back Great Architecture to help places feel like home.