Terra Nova  Project Meeting from 1/29/10 by Dan
Meeting 2pm. All members present.
Main goal for meeting to define design goals for cohousing project, consider floor plans and examine social processes to effectively achieve end goals.
Initial conversations centered around physical layout of existing structure and the location of the commons house. It was decided that the first floor of the apartment complex would be converted to the commons house.  Many ideas were shared as to how to design and develop this area to meet the needs of the occupants. Items mentioned are listed now, in no particular priority since that had yet to be finalized.  Commons house (area, Floor) would contain Large communal kitchen, attractively designed to enhance a sense of community and pleasure. Commons area would have large living area for social interaction and gathering. Furthermore there would be a guest area and bathroom in commons area. Commons area would contain a small area for quite , reflective time. Possibility of having elevator installed was mentioned and agreed upon.
In the design of the cohousing complex it was decided that the basement would contain all mechanical equipment appropriate to that means. We discussed having the laundry facility there along with media/ craft room appropriate for games and entertaining. Storage would also be served by this area. Many of the sustainable energy items would be house here, which include hot water heaters, pumps, energy converters and electrical units. The items here are listed in no particular priority as they are still to be finalized.
The two floors of the cohousing complex will be used for residents and it was left up to the occupants as to how the units could be designed.  It was established that all remodeling should contain sustainable materials that comply with the Red list that restricts certain materials in the complex.
The roof of the cohousing community would be designed to be a garden area, slated to grow produce.  The roof top would also have transparent awning to facilitate rain harvesting and control watering of plants. Water would be harvested to run irrigation systems and non potable systems. Other uses of the roof top included social gatherings and cookouts.
Possibility of adding floors to the cohousing complex discussed.
Many design items were mentioned and are still open to discussion, these include wifi, composting, recycling area, chickens filtration of water systems, insulation of complex, landscaping.. There is an additional building on the grounds that could be put to use as an artist studio and small business area, still to be discussed..
Social processes were discussed and it is still being examined as to whether our design goals are getting us close to the idea of our cohousing project.
In the next meeting on Monday 2/1/10 at 1pm we will look towards governance and operating the community and succession across the generations. Specifically who participates, how are issues decided and rules made and enforced.
If any items were omitted from the Friday meeting it was entirely the fault of the minute taker, namely me and the person typing the minutes, again me. I apologize ahead of time, and look forward to the next meeting, anyone desiring to be facilitator should come to the meeting prepared to take on said role.  Thanks again to Linda for the use of her house for the meeting and being the facilitator.

Terra Nova (Class Meeting) Notes from 1/28/10

By Linda

Present: All members
      Our main goal for meeting today was to establish a location for our cohousing project.  After briefly considering other options, it was decided that we would be renovating an existing structure to meet our demands.
      After looking online at several buildings, it was decided that we would be renovating an existing apartment building located in the Lower Queen Anne area of Seattle.  The building currently is 3 stories with a basement and an out building that is/was being used as an art studio on the property.   
      Concerns about the current structure are:
Limited parking
May need to expand 1 floor (making a 4^th floor) in future
      Next meeting is on Friday, Jan. 29.
Tentative itinerary for Friday’s meeting:

1. Physical layout of cohousing site (buildings, paths, gardens, playgrounds, etc)
• Site drawing showing all major physical features and systems (include item indicators)
• Floor plans of common house
• Social processes

2. Governance structures for creating and operating the community and succession across the generations
• Who participates?
• How are issues decided?
• How are rules made?
• How are the rules enforced?

Our current wish list includes:
R-35 insulation throughout building
Green Roof
The ability to trade chores
Zero-Energy Building
Rain Capture
Composting – “Cradle to Cradle” mentality
Solar panels
Ping Pong/Pool table
Possible Elevator
Art studio

Team Contract

Terra Nova

Team Members:
Dan
Joshua
Linda 
Sarah 
Raphael

Team Mission Statement

Terra Nova commits to engage in a mutual respectful process that fosters learning in a group setting, and on the individual level, while adhering to the bylaws and rules we have agreed upon, in order to expediently exceed the expectations of ourselves and the course.

Meetings

Meetings outside of class will last no longer than 2 hours, unless a deadline is immediately impending.
Meetings are scheduled for Fridays at 1pm, location will vary. Additional meetings will be scheduled as needed or if a certain Friday does not work. To help facilitate this, Team Terra Nova will be utilizing Google Calendars.
Members may only miss 2 meetings due to scheduling conflicts (work/school).  Barring the unexpected, there should be no other reason to miss a meeting. 
If an absence is unavoidable, it is the missing team member’s responsibility to contact at least one other team member as soon as possible (before the meeting, if possible) to provide their prepared information, so that the rest of the group will not be held back.
If a team member misses more than 2 meetings, the reasons will be reviewed.  If chronic absence becomes an issue with any team member, and the issue cannot be resolved, the remaining team reserves the right to request that they not participate further in this team project.
Each Team member is expected to:
1. Come to each meeting prepared and with necessary information/tools for the rest of the team to proceed with the project.
2. Volunteer at least once for each of the following:

• Take notes/minutes at meetings
• Type & Email info to the Team and to Dr. Oyler
• Lead a meeting, including posting agenda beforehand, keep meeting on task (and maybe provide snacks?)
• Speak in class

Conflict Resolution

In the event of a conflict within the team, our group will attempt resolving the conflict by taking the following steps:

• Have all concerned individuals present their sides to the conflict without interruption or comments from any other party. 
• Any suggestions for resolutions will be heard.
• Other Comments (only – no discussion until after all statements & suggestions). 
• Discussion
• Specific resolutions agreed upon.
• Agreed upon resolutions will be documented in the team notes/minutes for future referral.

If, in the event that our team cannot resolve a specific conflict, we will request that our class instructor intervene and assist us in resolving the issue.

Roles in our Team

• Type Meeting Agenda / Minute Taker – Joshua
• Power Point - Linda
• Outlines – rotating assignment
• IT/Team Blog - Sarah
• Reports – rotating assignment
• Email/Coordinator - Dan
• Turn in work to instructor when due – as needed/TBD
• Speak in class for our team – as required
• 
  

It is expected that all members of Terra Nova will strive to be consistent in contributing.

Our Goals will - for the most part – follow the deliverables on the Cohousing design handout

• Our mission is to design a cohousing community that works and conveys our philosophy of self-sustainability through renewable energy.
• Location will be researched and decided by Thursday 28^th, 2010.  To include: Google maps, Google earth, topographic maps, latitude & longitude, etc.
• Physical layout of cohousing site (buildings, paths, etc). To include: site drawing showing all major physical features & systems; Numbers/Indicators to refer to in narrative, bubble diagrams.
• Governance structures for:

• Creating community
• Operating the community now and in future.
• To include: who participates, how issues are decided, how are rules made & enforced?

Market structures & Economic framework

• Production: We will determine the following outcomes:
• Who produces? (Agricultural &/or skill &/or crafted item)
• Who shares in produced goods?

• Ownership:
• Who owns residences?
• Who owns common areas?

Cultural & Social processes

• Cultural/Social processes include:
• Communal dinners in common house area with a social interaction event on the same evening.
• Description of life & culture of our cohousing community:
• Community celebrations
• Community meals
• Other community interests to be amended as requested and approved

Eco House Meeting 1
Monday January 25, 2010
Present:
Linda, Dan, Sarah, Joshua
Absent:  Raphael
Note Taker: Joshua
Agenda: Create Team Name and Logo; create mission statement and adding tasks and duties.
While Linda was present, a class made her unavailable for most of the meeting.
Dan, Sarah, and Joshua voted on a team name, Terra Nova won out. So welcome everyone to Team Terra Nova. Sarah is working up a team logo which will incorporate trees, houses, the earth, a river and a mountain, it looks really good.
Next up we collaborated to create a mission statement. We used one that Dan found online from Heartwood Cohousing as a guide to create ours.
Mission Statement:
To create and foster a sustainable community centered around supporting and respecting others within a dynamic and interactive community while growing lifestyles that have minimum impact on Mother Nature.
We further discussed how using an existing structure to create a urban cohousing community would be more in line with sustainability as we would be reusing something that already exists and transforming it into a eco cohousing. 
Sarah has taken on the roll of being our go to person for tec related things. We also concluded that having a web site (which she will set up) to capture our eco cohousing process and have a venue to share it with each other as well as others would be great. It was suggested that if we all had gmail accounts we could access it on another level as well. Sarah can assist those who need help in getting a gmail account set up.
Tabled agenda items: On Tuesday in class, we still need to create a working schedule, and Sarah suggested we could access Google calendars if we all had a gmail account. We need to get a solid due date from Professor Oyler so we can create a working time table for the project. We need to finalize the team contract and sign it to turn in. It is due 1/26 by 11pm. Lastly we need to assign roles and duties as well as further our discussion around key issues on the itinerary for creating a cohousing dwelling; such as production, ownership, generation spanning, cultural and social processes.