Community

We belong to the community. It is not the tailor alone who is the ninth part of a man; it is as much the preacher, and the merchant, and the farmer.

Community is the newest department, formed in June 2001 to assist with the new challenges presented by the Moreland contract. It is based in the NYC office.

It is envisaged that this department will have special responsibilities in town planning and layout, especially with regard to traffic flow, and in social engineering.

Popularized by large corporations, planned communities have been in existence as early as the seventies (and even earlier, including the revolution of pre-fabricated housing and subdivision structures of the forties and fifties). The impetus for such a community is often pre-empted by a collective need to be self-sufficient, as well as in touch with current technologies and the outside world. Resolving the two is no easy task, however, as human foibles and rampant idealism clash over picture-perfect lawns and Craftsman-style homes. TerraShape, with the aid of several research firms in the U.S., have compiled a list of Dos and Don'ts by which their towns will thrive.

"Structural integrity does not end with the final wooden beam in a Victorian mansion," is a saying often heard in the TerraShape meeting rooms. "Community - the integrity of humanity's team effort - that's the key to completing a town."

Some of the homes being built, most recently in Moreland, West Virginia, take advantage of local residents to help with foundations and finishing touches on the spacious, gorgeous homes the Architecture team are proud to call their own. Such grass roots construction is indicative of the generous and friendly nature of such a town as Moreland, echoing the positive effects of movements like Habitat for Humanity.
	When modeling the Moreland Project, Jo Burgess, the head of the Design Department, and the entire Community team would meet nearly daily to decide on the town's intangibles - comfort levels, possibilities for frustration, accessibility, regulatory standards. "It felt like re-inventing the wheel at first," Burgess says, "but after a while it became apparent that what we were onto was very organic, and going to be very successful."
"The combination of familiar styles and architectures is what really brings the concept home to me," Moreland Resident Gina Genet enthuses. "I knew, as soon as I saw the homes listed for purchase, that this was where I wanted to be, forever. The architecture is fabulous, the immediate surroundings are pleasing to the eye, and even more than that, I love the people. My life has never gone so smoothly."

Departments | Community

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