tstaniec's Profile

HOW did I miss this series profiling Dads until now? It feels to me, as a father, that Mom's get all the press. Thanks for showing men who are involved with their family and have opinions to contribute.

Thank you Dat!

It should be noted that the Cornell house is not a re-used silo. It is a Cor-ten product constructed to look like a silo. I had the opportunity to walk though the house this year when it was installed at the NYS Fair. While I share an affection for silo's to houses, I was disappointed to learn this was not one.

I am a longtime subscriber to Dwell, and while I do understand how some may feel bad about the home they live in because of the structures in Dwell, I do not.

The problem as I see is it that most people will never build a home to their own tastes, much less build a modern, efficient intelligent home as is typically profiled in Dwell. We are, therefore, left to choose to buy (or rent) the mass-produced, copycat suburbia, "easy to throw up and sell" homes that currently exist in America. Homes where upgrades in insulation and furnaces are mere bandaids to the problem that the homes are boring and inefficient and take up precious land space. Though some of us may aspire to something different, a century of development has left us with no choice. When Dwell shows us instead what is possible, it sure could be easy to be demoralized.

However, at least for me, Dwell is a catalog of "what could be". It helps me shape my personal asthetic. Dwell certainly highlights wonderful structures, but it goes deeper and provides commentary on how life should be lived. It has helped me choose the house I currently live in, and helps guide my renovations. My mother has said numerous times to me, buy a location not a house. Houses can be changed, location you are stuck with. While I do not have expanses of windows, passive solar, polished concrete floors...or anything else I would aspire to if the sky was the limit...I do have a neighborhood full of kids, a short walk to the grocery, a bike ride to the elementary school and a 10 minute commute. These are all elements of life that Dwell revisits often.

All this said...if I had the means, I would raze my home in a heartbeat and rebuild a Dwell-worthy home filled funky modern furniture.