THE STORY OF SIMPLICITY - Our American Foursquare

‘According to ancient Roman belief, every independent being has its guardian spirit.  

This spirit gives life to people and places, accompanies them from birth to death, and determines their character or essence.’ (Phenomenology)  

          To think of each place as having a guardian spirit, a character that is basic to it, reminds me again of How Buildings Learn by Stewart Brand.  In this book he takes a look at the multiple lives a building has in its lifetime.  Some buildings are designed to be adaptable, but most are built for a specific use that defines its character. A home, school, church, and an office building each have a specific use and thereby creating a different human experience. Historical buildings have committees who advocate for the ‘character and essence', but many others do not.  When the building’s spirit or character is compromised,  we can experience it as miss-matched or it may produce a negative or confusing feeling within us.

          In 2001, my husband and I purchased an American foursquare house.  This style of home architecture was built from 1895 – 1930 and had distinctive qualities: a box shape,  five panel doors, simple in design, and suited to make use of every inch of the house and lot.  We named the house ‘Simplicity’. She was built in two parts - the first structure at the turn of the century and the back section added in the 1920's. With each home decision we have attempted to keep the intention of its character, its essence. The simple lines of the window molding have not been hidden by draperies when possible.   Carpeting has not been laid over the beautiful wooden floors.  The three open porches are used as outdoor living spaces. Simplicity’s front door graces a hand-turned rather than an electric door bell.  One of the bathrooms houses a claw foot tub that welcomes relaxing bubble baths.  Everything is simple, minimal, and yet enough.

          Each of these decisions to maintain its essence as ‘simplicity’ has invited us to live simpler lives.  The first floor's ten and a half foot ceilings grace us with expanded space to breathe.  One of the rooms contains floor to ceiling shelving, more than likely intended as a pantry.  In our current lifestyle, this room was first transformed into the library, offering us a quiet and reflective place. Now one of our offices resides there.  The living room is arranged for storytelling and conversation. Chairs and sofas, lamps and tables create inviting nooks to hold the entertainment of one or more.  Our front dining room is used on most days and invites us to linger over a meal, share with others, and host celebrations. The kitchen is large and in the middle of the house. Tall double-hung windows invite natural light from the East and the West into this hub of the home - the place where people gather and from which smells of hospitality come as meals are prepared and shared.

          Simplicity has had other lives.  Stewart Brand says, ‘The house and its occupants mold to each other twenty-four hours a day, and the building accumulates the record of that intimacy.’  Prior to being rescued from demolition, moved to its present site and then remodeled, Simplicity housed a hair salon and tailor’s shop on the first floor with an apartment above. Earlier the house was the family home of a well-known elementary teacher in the village. Each of these ‘lives’ has been recorded in this place.

 ‘This spirit gives life to people and places, accompanies them from birth to death, and determines their character or essence.’   

People seem to enjoy coming to Simplicity.  She holds their stories and lives well.  She has been described as hospitable, uncomplicated, calming, safe, refreshing, and inspiring.  She sits well on her new lot.  We have added flowerbeds, trees and shrubs to complement her. When we are seated on the front porch we often hear, “We love your house” from those who walk by.  Perhaps this is because we have tried to listen and honor her ‘spirit’ in the transitioning of a turn of the century home into twenty-first century living.  

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BUILDINGS SPEAK A LANGUAGE

“ . . . When you build a thing you cannot merely build that thing in isolation, but must also repair the world around it, and within it, so that the larger world at that one place becomes more coherent, and more whole; and the thing which you make takes its place in the web of nature, as you make it.”  From A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction

          Take a look around.  How often do we see buildings that stick-out and feel strange in their environments?  In the same breath, we also view buildings that are well matched to their settings. Some buildings have gardens or green space around them.  Others are found in the midst of change. In transitional neighborhoods an historic or older building may still be trying to hold a place of dignity.  It is also very likely that it is serving a different purpose than when it was first built. It is living a second or third life.

A Place in the Neighborhood

          The way a building sits in its 'neighborhood' speaks volumes.  Our human condition intuits whether this is a place we wish to enter. We look for places that welcome.  Seeing the exterior of the building and how it is involved with its environment shapes a first impression. Is it complimentary with the other buildings in the area?  Does it enhance the site?  Is there the possibility of planned green space? Is the signage fresh looking and easy to read?  Have people cared for the facility? Buildings that have been given care suggest that the people inside will do the same for us.

          Many buildings simply look sad.  Rather than being complimentary and enhancing their neighborhood, they look tired, out of place, or as a keeper of the past.  It looks as if all energy has left. We may be hesitant to enter. We may make assumptions about the people and businesses inside. A building’s place in the neighborhood is important. It shapes the neighborhood by being involved in the life of that land, location, and space.

Buildings Speak a Language

          Our buildings speak a language. They tell us whether they are loved or ignored. They tell us of the energy and spirit of those who use them. They easily invite or distance a guest. They encourage or complicate new ideas. Does this building look tired and out of date or refreshed and vital? Is everyone able to enter safely, comfortably, without hesitation? What is this building saying to those who pass by? What does it say about what we do, who we are?  In designer Helen Berliner’s words, “What is the MOST we can GIVE to users of this place, to its surroundings and community, to the future, and to all of life?”  A building is carefully planned by paying attention to the lives and needs of people.  What is the MOST our buildings can GIVE to the people they house and the neighborhoods in which they live?

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A PLACE on the Calendar

          It’s September lst.  Its PLACE on the calendar means that today is the first day of a new month.  In our culture, September has long been thought of as the beginning of the fall season.  Summer is behind us.  The time for vacations and summer activities has come to a close. The summer foods begin to fade away (fresh sweet corn comes to mind), while apples and squash begin to make an appearance.  

          The PLACE on the calendar tells us that a new schedule awaits us - a new rhythm to our days and weekends is before us.  In some ways it invites a renewal of the everyday and ordinary life.  The days of living outside are changing.  We begin to plan indoor house projects, clean the closets, schedule our lives differently.  Meetings that were on hiatus during the summer start up again.  A new eight week yoga session invites us. Just as the children purchase new school supplies and clothing, even we, who are long past living in the cadence of the school year, start anew as well. 

          Today on my walk/run, I felt like that familiar phrase – ‘Today is the first day of the rest of my life!’  Yes, I can do this.  It is good for me.  Begin the day with yoga then walk.  I can do this!  I know how great I feel when I do.  Certainly this can be my every day morning practice. Yes!     (By the way - I am not lending an ear to that inner voice that doubts the renewed commitment to fitness by saying – Wonder how long this will last?)

          What is it about a PLACE on the calendar that gives energy, intensity, a readiness for something new, a commitment to that which makes us a better person?  What fall foods are you eager to taste? (Oh my – pumpkin pie and caramel apples come to mind!  Never think about them in the summer.)  What favorite sweaters are about to replace those summer sleeveless shirts?  Have you traded your allegiance from baseball to football?  What flowers have had their day in the sun and now those that have waited for this PLACE on the calendar are becoming colorful? What new ‘thing’ are you about as this PLACE on the calendar announces its arrival?  Let me know . . .

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