An evolving mosaic of places people love
Places People Love
Given our values of Individuality and Interconnection, we now choose a domain in which to express these values.
We shape our buildings, and afterwards our buildings shape us. – Winston Churchill
Our built environment, and in particular our system of housing, has an outsized impact on who we are. However, our modern system of housing currently fails to support two of our most fundamental needs. In the words of Christopher Alexander:
"If we consider the systems of housing production which exist in the world today, we find that almost all of them lack two fundamental necessities of any human society.
First, recognition of the fact that every family and every person, is unique, and must be able to express this uniqueness, in order to express and retain human dignity.
Second, recognition of the fact that every family and every person, is part of society, requires bonds of association with other people – in short, requires a place in society, in which there are relationships with others.
These two complementary necessities are almost entirely missing from today's houses. On the one hand, the houses are identical, machinelike, stamped out of a mold, and almost entirely unable to express the individuality of different families … On the other hand, the houses also fail entirely to give people a basis for small local congregation. Placed and built anonymously, the houses express isolation, lack of relationship, and fail altogether to help create human bonds in which people feel themselves part of the fabric which connects them to their fellow men."
— Christopher Alexander, Production of Houses
To create a system of housing that does incorporate individuality and interconnection at its base would have deep impact on our relationship with life and the world. In the words of Charles Eisenstein:
"And what is sacred? It has two aspects: uniqueness and relatedness. A sacred object or being is one that is special, unique, one of a kind … Unique though it is, the sacred is nonetheless inseparable from all that went into making it, from its history, and from the place it occupies in the matrix of all being."
— Charles Eisenstein, Sacred Economics
Make places people love, and make them widely available. Orient the company around creating a built environment where everybody feels their uniqueness and relatedness, their individuality and interconnection, in other words, where everybody feels at home in the world. Start with homes, because homes have the most impact, but over time, extend to neighborhoods, streets, offices, downtowns. Aim, bit-by-bit, to make the world a more beautiful place.
Aim to build Beautiful, Lively, and Affordable Neighborhoods. Do so by creating Community and Home Designs Inspired by Christopher Alexander. Start by focusing on Scalable and Efficient Construction Operations, and being a technology-enabled, high-quality, low-cost, construction contractor to homebuilders. Over time, offer the existing customer base technology-enabled design services to become a Design + Build + Sales Service Provider.
Next pattern: Step-by-Step See all patterns
At Home in the World
Small Teams with Clear Interfaces
Separating Role from Soul
Role Interface
Nested Realms
Role Steward
Vision, Strategy, and Objectives
Orientation to Growth
Regular Self-Reflection
Continuous Feedback
Mosaic Building Group, Inc.