grand oak mini ecosystem
My obsession has always been managing space. As a kid, fortunate to have my own small room, I had constantly tried to get the most out of a small room in a small house. College and postgraduate and post post graduate renting of usually small apartments in expensive cities forced me to become a brainwashed zombie slave to IKEA. But I learned the limits and possibilities of pre fab design, and learned to embrace the zenlike possibility of functional minimalism.
Buying a condo in Manhattan opened my eyes to the wonder of urban sanctuaries. The sweat of carrying maple trees, pear and peach trees, a weeping willow, as well as untold or secret herbs, vines, and fragrant plant was worth it all. A rooftop garden sprung up above our heads. Four hundred square feet of color, environment, and wonder was fed by automatic drip irrigation. A cozy deck hosted ridiculously amazing parties / conversations / cook offs /star & navel gazing that would crawl into dawn on summer nights above Grammercy traffic. Regrettably, that garden withered in our absence. How could a renter maintain someone else’s oasis? While our garden reverted back to its blank canvas, My wife and I sprung up a family out west.
NY roofdeck and vines
The Bay Area is a giant garden itself, with sprawl pressed down into it. There are lovely pockets of parks, trails in the hills, and hidden stairways throughout much of the East Bay that can briefly reclaim that lost sense of archaic nature. Unspoiled and flourishing, unlike the asphalt and stagnant sprawl. A balance needs to be established in this relationship. Something that serves an extremely pragmatic and efficient purpose, while allowing the land around it to embrace it. Ultimately, to reclaim it, in a gradual relaxed manner.
Considering my obsession with small spaces, the choice of a small house in a good school district presented the challenge to inspire both terror and courage. While in NY, we had plenty of space to store our countless books, periodicals… essential media. Hobbyists, my wife and I needed much more space than this small house could provide. Even with the conversion of a single garage to a workspace, there needed to be an environment that would not only store stuff, but encourage thought. So as necessity drives progress, all that was needed was a plan that could incorporate what we wanted, and allow us to balance the impact of our takeover up the hill…
The hill and its great trees required our respect.
Old view barren hillside, unmanaged trees
A lofty view, hopefully happy trees
