Here are some further details on the discussion on the common spaces.
Overall objective
The overall objective is for the group to come to an agreement on
Which common spaces / functionalities we would like to include, and
How these common spaces would be used (can they be reserved, does it cost money, how will they be cleaned, …)
Deadline
We need this decision before we can start scouting for a site.
The decision should be more or less final. Only when we buy the site we can re-open it once to make some adjustments in function of the site.
Process
We are not fully clear about how we want to complete this process (first draft is saved here).
Any advice on how to go about this would be very welcome.
First discusssion to explore options at one of the next plenaries
To kick start the process we would like to give a short presentation (15 minutes Q&A included), followed by a sort of brainstorming exercise.
If this would be useful, we have a list of possible rooms in the Blueprint brochure (p. 6) and a list from a Team Building brainstorming in the minutes (26/07, table at the end).
For the brainstorming exercise we would like to keep it as realistic as possible, and focus in particular on the following aspects:
How would you use room XYZ?
Which questions do we need to clarify about room XYZ?
Example: Guest room
Use:
My mother would sleep over +/- 4 times a year. She’s a little older and would appreciate it if the guest room had some privacy.
My goldchild and her sisters would probably come for a sleepover a couple of times a year. They would need bunk beds but don’t need a lot of luxury.
Questions:
Would we have a booking system?
What if several people want to use the guest room at the same time?
Who will take care of the cleaning?
Would it be free or would it cost a small amount of money?
…
Example: Multi-purpose room
Use:
I am a member of a choir and if the possibility exists we could use The Reef’s multi-purpose room for our rehearsals.
I would like to invite my family (80 people) for an annual get-together.
…
Questions:
Who will take care of the bookings of the multi-purpose room?
Would it cost money to use it?
What if several people want to use it at the same time?
I moved the common spaces discussion to a separate thread, because it’s important and otherwise we won’t be able to find it back.
Outcome of the brainstorming at the plenary meeting on 15 September
(see also the minutes):
Rooftop
Soundproof room (e.g. for band repetitions)
Fitness room, tatami space
Laundry room
Dining room, guest corner, big eating hall
Bathroom, bath tub, sauna
Bike storage
Guest rooms
Workshop / tools room
Spare rooms
Silent space, quiet corner
Common living room
Children’s corner, play room
Coworking space
Multipurpose room, community meeting room, stage, room for workshops, playground for adults
Common kitchen, professional kitchen
Next step?
What I think we need to clarify now for these rooms at a plenary meeting brainstorm is two things:
How we picture these rooms
Identify the rooms that affect our choice for our private units. Example: if there is a common guest room, most people won’t get one in their private unit.
Question: do you agree with these two questions as the next step, or would you prefer to discuss this first at a Team Building meeting?
If yes: would somebody be willing to volunteer to plan that meeting?
If no: would somebody be willing to volunteer to plan a meeting after the plenary of 12/10, so that we can discuss the results of the second brainstorm and prepare a proposal?
Sounds like a good plan to do it directly at the plenary…
At the moment, is team building just us two and Matteo right?
If yes, how about I just throw some dates out there and you guys tell me if that works for you?
So here:
Hi,
For the 24th, indeed, I actually took it out just after posting. Weird that you still see it as an option…
For the 18th, we have booked a team governance meeting at 8… what’s the earliest you guys could meet? I could maybe move the other meeting to 8.30 if we meet early enough…
Hi @reef-building & @reef-facilitation! I wasn’t at the plenary on September 15th and I just noticed there is no mention of a garden in the outcome of the brainstorming (apart for the rooftop, which may be a garden or not). Was it kept out of the scope of the exercise on purpose?
Based on the outcome of the brainstorming at the plenary meeting of 15/09 I have created a Powerpoint slide with 4 quadrants: one axis is private vs open to the public, the other axis is essential vs nice to have. I saved it in the “common spaces” folder (internal link)
What I propose we do at the next plenary meeting is to see where everybody would put every room (for the moment I placed them at random).
What I would like to get out of it is a good indication of which common spaces people will count on when making decisions about their private units (e.g. if there is a common guest room, many people won’t get a guest room in their own unit).
Does this approach work for you? Any comments or suggestions?
@Celine_D: following up to your post and your feedback at the plenary meeting, could you please elaborate in a couple of sentences what kind of debate you would like to have about the garden?
Is there something specific that would affect your choice to purchase a unit in The Reef, or …? Understanding this a bit better would help us in Team Building to set up a discussion.
I suggest we have the same discussion on private/public and essential/nice-to-have for outdoor spaces.
And that we first make a list of spaces (and/or functions) we want/would like to have e.g. ornamental garden / vegetable garden / quiet corner / shade/ covered space / terrace / shed / playground …
I personally really want to have a place to grow vegetables/herbs/fruit.
Thanks @Celine_D: very clear! I added it to the list of topics for the plenary meeting. I think it merits a separate discussion from the indoor common spaces though, which is why I propose to keep it separate.
Hi! If The Reef is to be resilient, wouldn’t it be good to have a cellar, I mean a proper cellar like in old houses, which remains cool throughout the year so that we could store vegetable/fruit/cheese (and wine ;-))?
Sorry for this late and maybe inappropriate post…
And ourselves in a heat wave. Maybe we can ask for an exception to the building code, and reclaim some of the parking spaces we do not need for this cellar idea.
I had the same idea after attending a lecture in “le Dk” in Saint-Gilles. They have a very big “multi-purpose room” underground, and it’s easy to see that this is a great asset during heat waves. The downside is that anything underground apparently costs a fortune, because it needs to be made waterproof.
So the way I think this is going to go, is that we first need to buy a site, and do some thorough brainstorming and reality checks together with the architects. But we can dream and explore in the meantime of course. Say, for example, that one day Brussels would be much more car-free. Can we build the garage / mandatory parking places such that in 10 years we can convert the space into a cellar / extra multi-purpose room?
Hi there!
Below are some extra questions that might help us think about point 3, and get a more detailed view of these spaces to prepare a proposal.
Extra questions for section 3
Coworking space :
Would you use it ? If yes, how many days a week ? What timetable ?
How much space would you need ? Would you need space a personnal desk ? desktop computer ? or would it work to have your laptop and a foldable desk?
Would it be opened to the public ?
Who would pay for it ? the whole community ? users ?
Common living-room
What would you use it for/how would you use it ?
What corners/functions would you like to see in it?
@Lee : not sure that the questions appear clearly in the agenda of the next plenary; will it be included in the power point? And in any case, shouldn’t they be available for people to think about ahead of the meeting?
I included all your questions in the Powerpoint, and I hope that most people will have gone through it before the meeting. I’ll print a copy though, for the break-out sessions.
