Not a Cathedral for Consumption but a Garden for Celebration
To celebrate the new century, the San Diego Union-Tribune asked Hubbell & Hubbell to create a design that expresses our hopes for San Diego’s future. Temenos Gardens is our vision of what that future could be, if we have enough imagination and foresight to abandon the destructive building patterns of our present.
We believe the 21st century will see a return to smaller homes that are extensions of the garden, a meeting place between the world of man and the world of nature. Temenos = Greek for “sacred space around.”
Temenos Gardens would consist of small developments, one block in size. Our design is geared toward smaller family units, such as a single parent with children, the elderly, couples, or individuals. The blocks would fit within the large tract-home developments of San Diego’s east county or as in-fill into existing neighborhoods.
We envision 1,000 sq. ft. homes on lots that are 100 ft. by 100 ft. The lot corners would host shared activities such as a swimming pool, garden, barbecue/party space, guest house, sports facilities, and butterfly or bird gardens. Community paths would interconnect these common spaces, with lot edges defined by two rows of fruit trees. A small water reclaiming plant and underground cisterns for storing rainwater would provide water for the plants.
Key environmental features to be incorporated into the homes would include:
- Wiring for high-speed Internet access, creating a telecommuter’s paradise
- Shared windmill, solar collectors, fuel-cell automobiles selling excess energy back to the power companies
- Low-flow or composting toilets
- Building with sustainable materials: straw bale, bamboo, rammed earth, and recycled lumber and steel.
