One of my best friends just bought a house in West Seattle and a bunch of us are seriously considering moving in with him. I would live upstairs with him and three of our friends would live in the groundlevel suite downstairs. It’s an exciting prospect, even though it would mean giving up my lovely apartment in Capitol Hill. I would really miss the proximity to urban life, but would love to live in a little complex with a bunch of people I really like. According to an architecture book I’m currently reading, A Pattern Language, that’s how people should live. It asserts that even couples should not live alone:

ideally, every couple is a part of a larger group household…If this can not be so, try to build the house for the couple in such a way as to tie it together with some other households, to form the beginnings of a group household, or, if this fails, at least to form the beginnings of a House Cluster.

The catalyst for this potential move is that Z and I want to reduce the total we spend on rent across our two homes, mine in Seattle and hers in Vancouver. But the change has the potential to be much more than a practical compromise. With our friends living downstairs, we would realize the House Cluster. The backyard, which includes a garden, would serve as a sort of “public land” connecting our households. The book makes strong claims about these aspects:

People will not feel comfortable in their houses unless a group of houses forms a cluster, with the public land between them jointly owned by all the householders.

Even if I don’t end up moving, I am very excited to help my friend plan, furnish, and decorate his new space. And the book is serving as perfect inspiration.