I just read this article on Natural Home Magazine (dot com) by Carol Venolia about the Los Angeles Eco Village.

I know.

How can there be an eco-village in one of the most consumptive, car-based, sprawling, polluted cities in this country?

Exactly.

L.A. Eco-Villagers have planted a dozen organic gardens and more than 100 fruit trees in their two-block neighborhood; developed a community revolving loan fund that made it possible to purchase and eco-rehab two apartment buildings (which will be converted to co-ops); composted sixty cubic yards of green neighborhood waste; diverted twenty tons of brick from the landfill (from the 1994 earthquake) for Eco-Village beautification projects; and held weekly community potlucks to build a sense of community.

Future projects include developing eight live/work spaces; purchasing more buildings; bio-remediating several brownfields; creating a demonstration “slow street” (already funded by the city), where landscaping and pedestrians have priority and cars move slowly; installing a graywater system and a demonstration neighborhood “living machine” for sewage treatment; demonstrating innovative solar heating and cooling systems; starting local green businesses; organizing organic food buying and car co-ops; creating a training program for urban eco-villages; and establishing a local currency system.

Oh Los Angeles, you are my constant complaint. I hate your poison air and your constant traffic, your gridlock, your plastic people. But maybe there is the tiniest little ray of hope emanating from your cold dark heart.

When you stay put and gradually transform your neighborhood’s vitality, you can improve existing buildings (less wasteful than new eco-building); avoid invading rural land; educate neighbors who aren’t already part of “the choir;” grow healthy food that doesn’t need to be trucked in; help cool the urban heat island; recharge the water table; bring birds, bees, and butterflies back to barren areas; reduce car use; and lower crime while increasing a sense of belonging by increasing community.

Just so you know, I’m still moving.

Read the whole thing.

World travelers, she and Dan have been heavily influenced by the European villa-style architecture with central courtyard that, in turn, serves as another room of the house. “We didn’t want a patio or a porch,” says Karen. “We wanted an outdoor living area.”

I just read about Karen and Dan Forey’s courtyard house in Denver on Natural Home (dot com), and because I love courtyard houses so much, I just had to share it with you.

Guests who enter the house are embraced by design that, indeed, replicates a European villa. Textured walls in warm ­colors, rich leather furniture, a hand-crafted stone fireplace, ornate chandeliers, and arched entryways create the feeling of an Old World country house where the inhabitants can relax and enjoy the good life. The courtyard reinforces this scene.

To create design continuity between the interior and exterior, Karen turned to natural materials. She opted for rugged Colo­rado flagstone for the terrace floor, a perfect extension of the multicolored Indian slate used inside. The textured interior walls melt into creamy exterior stucco walls. The iron and metalwork that distinguish the dining room and kitchen chandeliers are echoed by wrought-iron trellises, balcony railings, and the burnished lanterns that provide ­outdoor lighting. The arbor that leads to the courtyard recalls the interior eyebrow arches.

An outdoor room requires natural practicality. The umbrella and furniture cushions are covered in a waterproof cotton fabric that will not mildew. The wicker has been treated to be impervious to weather. Two limestone end tables can withstand the worst rainstorm. From early spring to late fall, the courtyard is intact, ready for use on a beautiful day.

To capture the outdoors that the Foreys so love, Karen has focused on two natural elements: plants and water. Attracted to red, fuchsia, and purple—punctuated with splashes of yellow—she’s created a flower garden that explodes with riotous color. Bright red Spanish trumpet vines climb the trellises; pots of red roses flank the outdoor fireplace. Flowers cascade off the shallow balconies that overlook the courtyard. A mature ash tree provides shade and privacy, and the arbor is smothered in grapevines that allow just enough sun through to nourish the ground cover between the flagstones. Shrubbery and other of Forey’s flora are hydrated with a computer-operated, drip-irrigation system that requires little maintenance and helps conserve water.

A stunning two-tiered fountain recycles water, minimizing the “splash” factor. The soothing sounds of the fountain water obliterate the sound of traffic, just a half block away, and it reminds Karen of the rushing stream that ran near her Rocky Mountain home.

Read the whole thing