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Vital Signs
Project: Siegel House Case Study
Background: Village Homes
The Village Homes subdivision is a model ecological community in Davis, California,
conceived of by developer Michael Corbett. The project began in 1973 and construction of
the initial phase was completed in 1982. This page describes some of the ideas behind
Village Homes, and then provides some references for further information.
The concept behind Village Homes
 Typical
Village Homes house and
green-space, late winter 1996
Village Homes incorporates many non-traditional architectural and planning principles that
make it an energy-efficient, environmentally-sensitive, and community-oriented place to
live. For example, most houses use some form of solar energy to reduce their heating
costs. This wide-spread solar energy use is made possible in part because each lot in the
development has good southern exposure due to carefully planned roads.
The roads are a part of the innovative planning at Village Homes in another way. They are
much narrower than in standard housing developments, providing reduced noise levels from
cars, smaller surfaces to heat up in the summer, larger amount of land for residential
use, and safer streets for children.
 Village
Homes green-space
and sidewalk, late winter 1996
The planning for Village Homes also fosters a strong sense of community. Houses are
arranged in groups of eight, with each group sharing common areas and green-space. There
is a solar-heated pool and community center for residents, and there are orchards,
vineyards, and garden plots available to all members of Village Homes.
Village Homes has attracted a great deal of attention over the years, including a number
of visits from foreign heads of state such as Francois Mitteraund.
 Underground
house at Village Homes,
late winter 1996
Though many of the ideas behind Village Homes were far from mainstream when the project
began, today it is one of the most desirable addresses in California's "Central
Valley."
For more information about Village Homes, consider the following.
Articles:
- Look up this article Village
Homes, A model solar community proves its worth, by William Browning
- Look up the article "New Ecoburbs" in On The Ground, Winter/Spring
1995, p. 26, by Sally Woodbridge.
Abstract:
Ecoburbs are ecologically-sensitive suburban developments. As two of the original
ecoburbs-Village Homes in Davis, California and Woodlands in Houston, Texas-approach 25
years of age, two new ecoburbs near Chicago are underway. Prairie Crossing and Tyron Farm
respond to existing vegetation and the natural drainage features of the land, and site
buildings in response to the sun. They also promote ecologically-sensitive lifestyles by
encouraging compact living and less car use.
- Order a "model project"
publication about Village Homes through the Center for
Livable Communities, a part of the Local Government
Commission.
- Order Village Homes: A Post-Occupancy Evaluation--Two publications from separate
senior classes, UCDavis. (1993). Cost: $4.50 ea. postage $1..90 ea. Contact: Caru Bowns at
Center for Design Research, Landscape Architecture Program, Department of Environmental
Design, University of California, Davis 95616, (916) 752-2245, cabowns@ucdavis.edu.
- Read the article Japanese TV
focuses on Village Homes from a local Davis newspaper, the Enterprise.
- Village Homes was chosen by the National Center for
Appropriate Technology as a sustainable design success story. Find out more in the
article on Village
Homes at their site.
- The Rocky Mountain Institute has a CD describing green
developments. Village Homes is one of the examples on their CD. View a sample of the Village Homes information from that
CD.
Books:
- Find out more about the ideas behind Village Homes in this book by the developer Michael
Corbett: A Better Place to Live (1990). If you can't find it in a library, it's
available from agAccess, 603 4th Street, Davis, CA 95616; (916) 756-7177.
- Read this book, which describes the Village Homes subdivision. Bainbridge, David A. and
Judy Corbett. 1979. Village Homes: Solar House Designs. Emmaus (Pennsylvania):
Rodale Press.
- Read, Lang, R. and A. Armour, Planning Land to Conserve Energy: 40 Case Studies from
Canada and the United States. Ottawa: Environment Canada, 1982.
Videos:
Communities for All Seasons
Abstract:
A charming program produced for public television, this video focuses on the creation of a
sense of community and source-efficiency measures such as energy conservation, recycling,
urban food production and water conservation. The tape features the Village Homes
development in Davis, CA. (30 minutes)
This video is available on loan from the Local Government
Commission at a cost of $15.
Conferences:
For a more up-to-date take on these architectural and planning ideas, go hear Michael
Corbett speak this summer at the 1996 Ecological Farming Conference. Here is an excerpt
from the agenda for the conference.
Eco-Friendly Architecture
Ever wondered what it would be like to design a community as if people and the environment
mattered? Ever thought about building a house or farm building out of materials you could
grow in one season? Find examples of these approaches and much more in this session with
presenters who not only "walk their talk" but build it.
Speakers: Michael Corbett, Village Homes, Davis, CA, Stan Welsh, Natural Building Network,
Ashland, OR.
Internet:
Use one of the many search engines on the internet to find current Village Homes
references. We suggest trying Alta Vista with the following search string: +"Village
Homes" +Davis. Click here to try Alta
Vista with these search terms. |
