Big Change Through Not So Big Actions with Sarah Susanka
“If I had started off with the premise of how to make everybody build smaller houses, I would not have written that book (“The Not So Big House”), and I would have been taking something that would have been impossible to solve and would have gotten overwhelmed from trying to solve it. Solutions to problems come from working where you are, in your environment, and responding to what comes your way. It isn’t grandiose. It’s very small.”
- Sarah Susanka
The resonance of good design is not a pretty picture that goes onto the front of a magazine. Good design goes beyond beauty. It exudes respect and celebrates humanity. Good design is timeless as it is in service to life and brings aliveness that cultivates and enriches community. There is a pattern to this kind of design, and one that has been eloquently expressed through the writings of Christopher Alexander in his seminal book called “A Pattern Language.”
Sarah Susanka is a multiple times over best selling author and internationally renown architect that is credited with the start of the tiny house movement. She wrote the book “The Not So Big House” at a time in the 90’s when the architectural world was churning out McMansions in the suburbs. She has gone on to write many more books that have changed the culture and helped to showcase how design can create the conditions for both livability and environmental responsibility.
Be sure to tune into this episode of The Regenerative Real Estate Podcast with Sarah because it was incredibly inspirational and moving. Listeners are in for real treat because host Neal Collins was joined for the first time by a co-host who was also a former guest on this show. Ross Chapin, of Ross Chapin Architects is another architectural icon who is the originator of The Pocket Neighborhood, who began building smaller, right-sized homes that instead of facing outwards towards the car and concrete, faced inwards to promote connection, community, and security.
This conversation is rich with how both Sarah and Ross integrated in Christopher Alexander’s pattern language to form the bedrock of their designs and design principals which helped both of them to create massively successful homes, neighborhoods, and careers. They talk about the importance of building with love, the authenticity of designing for human well-being, and how to create change that truly shifts culture.
To learn more about Sarah's ideas and work, visit susanka.com and watch her TEDx talk.
“The Not So Big House: A Blueprint for the way we really live”
Why are we drawn more to smaller, more personal spaces than to larger, more expansive ones? Why do we spend more time in the kitchen than we do in the formal dining room? The Not So Big House proposes clear, workable guidelines for creating homes that serve both our spiritual needs and our material requirements, whether for a couple with no children, a family, empty nesters, or one person alone.
