Westbeth Thoughts

Westbeth Courtyard II, originally uploaded by R. Duke.

Thanks everyone for your input last night!

Here is a short "my take" on comments received last night for an artist-supportive development (above is the precedent of Westbeth suggested by Phillip). While the Parkwood development is not necessarily an "artist community" per se, a starting point for programming and creative development is a concept. Concepts are not pristine things you order online. They grow organically from ideas that get batted around. So let's just engage "artist community" and see where that gets us next.

Big Take:

1) honor the disciplines - sound-proof walls for music/performance, expansive floor area for dance, kiln and arable messy room for throwing clay, as examples.

2) insulate the artists from each other -- related to this: privacy; security; ability to shrink into one's oyster shell; escape; meditation; light; water; serenity; quiet; meditative space; secret escape hatch/back door access away from public areas.

3) affordability: shared living space, shared kitchen for economy units

4) artist condos: basic; adaptable; light everywhere; well-ventilated; concrete floor; "spacy"; no need to finish (except for perhaps bamboo cabinetry); will be partitioned/finished by owner

5) courtyards: one public, one for residents only - an atrium garden

6) water as a special feature

7) green roof (w/ amenities)

8) flexible common area for producing work w/ tool shop, etc

9) no need for designated ground floor "gallery space", focus on sustainable retail like coffee/deli shop and office space