Lately, in strident conversations with friends, I’ve noticed myself returning to a particular viewpoint. For ease of use, let’s call it the “imagine everyone lived that way” view. When my friends discuss locavorism or transportation one of the first things I try to do do is scale the conversation to infinite participants and see where it breaks; not so that I can pooh-pooh the idea, mind you, but so that we can actually scratch below the surface and have a meaningful engagement around the topic. How do people in arid landscapes practice locavorism when their climates are being impacted by industrialized nations, their people are being starved by oppressive regimes, and there’s no reliable water? What do they do? Sounds like a job for “evil agribusiness” to me.

These types of conversations make many of my friends uncomfortable. That’s understandable considering that most of them live pretty well with generally high-paying jobs. They are perfectly content to spout the newest buzzword, beatifically discuss the merits of said newest trend, and go about their latte-hazed days. Many I know suffer from a self-centered knee-jerk liberalism. They really feel for the plight of everybody, but they do so in a way that’s skewed towards their own self-interest. Hey, I love locavorism because I live in Seattle and have access to some of the most outstanding produce and seafood on the planet. I wouldn’t feel the same way if I lived in Sudan.

I love my friends, I do. This isn’t about them, per se, but more about what see when I look at my observable universe and I expand outward from there. No prescription, just observation.

How’s all that for a really discursive means of getting to the fact that I really love this rehabilitated house project in Normandy, France? Franklin Azzi architects took a broken down old farmhouse and renovated it, largely in its existing footprint. Isn’t it refreshing when people who can afford to live large, don’t?

Before

After

For more on this project (including interior shots), see the following posts:

• Tiny House Design
• Franklin Azzi Architecture
• MoCo Loco