INVESTOR: SERENBE


The development was designed to promote


walkability and discourage unnecessary car use


SUMMARY: The design principles of Serenbe Steve & Marie Nygren


1. To foster community engagement It was important to us that we fi nd a way to help community members naturally interact throughout their days. So we established central mail stations, small parks for both


children and pets, a path network throughout the grounds and woods that connect the hamlets, lots/plots and homes with sidewalks/pavements close to front porches, and a range of other elements that promote gatherings and conversations.


2. Development in close connection with nature Disrupt as little as possible: no more than 30 per cent of the area. For example, we don’t move soil from one location to another. This way, we save as many trees and natural landscaping as possible.


3. Public Vistas


Serenbe has natural high and low elevation points. The lower areas are left for residential and community clusters, and higher areas – those with beautiful views – are designed for public use to be enjoyed and shared together.


“We feel Mado – our new spa development – should be European in


scale and form”


shops, and the Grange, which has an agri- cultural theme and houses the community’s organic farms and general store. The third hamlet, Mado, broke ground in 2014 and will have a wellness theme, with assisted and independent living, a spa, a hotel, doctor’s offi ces and a community centre offer- ing classes including yoga and social clubs.


SOCIABLE DESIGN The hamlets are modelled on English villages, and are shaped like the Greek letter omega, part of a plan to use architecture to encourage interaction among Serenbe’s residents. “The omega shapes create a sense of community because they surround a natural


116 CLADGLOBAL.COM


meeting area in the centre,” says Tabb. “We wanted the omega shape rather than a ‘u’ shape, because the opening of a ‘u’ is too open, and so the energy of the hamlet could be lost. If you begin to close the opening, you get a greater degree of containment.” “It was important to us that we fi nd ways to help community members naturally interact throughout their days,” adds Steve Nygren. “All homes are required to have a porch and they must be sited close to the street, both for a connection to neighbours and activity. All post boxes are centralised for communal collection of mail and the opportunity to see your neigh- bours and catch up. All homes are connected to the trails as well as by streets and sidewalks.


CLADmag 2015 ISSUE 1


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